Brick-and-mortar stores must deal with online competition. Even health clinics face disruption from telemedicine. Yet optometrists have special protection in South Carolina.

When a telehealth company invented a safe and effective way for doctors to renew vision prescriptions remotely, political insiders rallied in Columbia to ban the service in South Carolina. Now, nine years later, the state-sponsored favoritism could end.

The South Carolina Supreme Court, which already rejected an attempt to …

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People learned during the COVID pandemic that getting limited care online via telemedicine can be a great way to expand access, especially in rural areas. But Visibly, founded in 2014, was ahead of the curve.

The Chicago-based company invented technology that lets people renew eyeglass prescriptions from home or anywhere with an internet connection. No appointment is necessary, no driving, and no waiting in a lobby. Licensed ophthalmologists review results and …

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