Practitioners invited to question Customs

Representatives of C&E will attend a Federation of Ophthalmic and Dispensing Opticians' seminar at the London Medical Society on May 19. Open to non-members, the seminar is free to all the profession, and the federation has invited anyone in optics involved with Customs' policy to attend. FODO has promised there will be a 'substantial' question and answer session during which the audience can fire queries at Customs' representatives. The presentations will include details of a new variant of fullcost apportionment published by FODO, a method which the employers' professional body claims has been agreed in its entirety with Customs. 'Many opticians are currently considering what they should do following the withdrawal of cost plus and fixed mark-up,' said Bob Hughes, FODO general secretary. 'Some advise that goods and services should be charged separately. However, many opticians will not consider this to be practical and will continue to charge one price for the dispensing of spectacles.' He said these practitioners would require a method of apportionment to determine the cost of the goods being supplied to the patient and also the cost of providing the service of dispensing spectacles. An explanation of the method will be featured in FODO's newsletter this month. The Association of Optometrists has been holding 'roadshow' events for its own method, Professional Fee Accounting, which will conclude in Belfast on April 28.