Welch Allyn PanOptic Opthalmoscope - is it worth $300 extra?

[Guest stevetilley]

The Welch Allyn reps were at my school today, they showed us their new PanOptic Opthalmoscope, its an extra $300 on top of the $440 for the standard diagnostic kit (which comes with a normal coaxial Opthalmoscope).

 

Has anyone used one of these PanOptics? Is it worth the extra $$$?

 

-Steve

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Don't buy either.

 

There's a good chance you won't ever use the ophthalmoscope or otoscope in practice - you might go into orthopedics, after all. Anytime you do need one it's usually available: either in the exam room, or at the nurse's station. There's a chance you may need it once or twice AT MOST for clinical methods in first and second year - in those circumstances it's either provided in the exam room, or worst case scenario there will probably be enough people in the group who, anxious, ignores the senior med students who advised them not to buy the opthalmoscope/otoscope and

 

If you go into family medicine after med school, it might be worth buying the panophthalmoscope then (if you're in ophthalmology you'll probably go straight for the slit lamp.) Yet another reason to not buy either at the moment - why not wait, and buy the panopthalmoscope at the end end of your training. The money you saved in first year ($400) will have probably doubled to the $700 you need for the panophthalmoscope after interest.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Absolutely NOT! I don't think it's worth it to buy a diagnostic set, unless you have lots of money, or want one for overseas work, etc.

 

Everywhere you are likely to need one, there should be one already provided. (ie. in the family doc's office, on the wards, etc).

 

You are still eligible to buy stuff on the cheap as a fourth year med student (if you are heading into Ophtho/ENT, Family Med, etc), and you will certainly have lots of opportunities to buy a barely-used diagnostic set from upper-year med students who found out they aren't particularly useful.

 

Diagnostic sets are WAY too bulky for you to have them in your white coats while you are on the ward. Worse yet, you'll always be afraid to lose them, or have them swiped. So, after you've used your diagnostic set to look into your room-mate's eyes and ears a few times, you will likely never again use your own set, but rather whatever set is available in the office/hospital.

 

Second, don't buy the PanOptic. Don't learn a fundamental clinical skill using something so high-tech that it will never be available in a situation you might actually require it. Fundoscopy is a difficult skill to learn, and you are going to be kicking yourself if you become reliant on the PanOptic technology to see the retina, and when you are in the aforementioned family doctor's office/on the wards, all that is available is the traditional ophthalmoscope.

 

The PanOptic has not caught on as best I can tell for just that reason. I don't see many/any med students buying them, and I haven't seen them proliferating as wall-mounted units in the hospital and on the wards. Some of this is probably related to their high cost, but the other reason is that med students have done fine with the traditional ophthalmoscope.

 

Why learn to drive only on an automatic when the family station wagon is a standard?

 

Ian

[Guest stevetilley]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

Our clinical skills coordinator suggested we get the diagnostic kits, but after reading your posts & talking to upper-year meds here, I'm definately going to keep my $440+.

 

Also, it was suggested by the profs that we get blood pressure kits (about $150), but after reading a few other threads it seems that noone EVER uses them.

 

Including taxes, I will have saved almost $700 by not buying this stuff. Thanks for the advice!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

No probs!

 

Just don't forget to use any clinical skill rooms and/or Hospital chances at MUN to practice BP taking and funduscopy, as well as otoscopy.

 

Just because we said you don't need to BUY this equipment doesn't mean you don't have LEARN HOW TO USE this equipment.

[Guest DrSahsi]

I bought a stethoscope, diagnostic kit, sphygmomanometer with adult + pediatric cuffs, tuning forks, tomahawk reflex hammer, and measuring tape... all in my first month or so of medical school. After all, it's what they recommended, right?

 

Wow. What a waste of perfectly good money.

 

Clinically, I still use the stethoscope and reflex hammer (though there are usually plenty of these available at the hospital). The measuring tape is used by my girlfriend for sewing, and I last touched the diagnostic kit a couple of years ago when I discovered the batteries would no longer hold a charge. I used it mostly as a big penlight when fixing computer innards. I couldn't even tell you where the rest is.

 

If you can learn how to use the "non-necessary-to-own" equipment without having to shell out for it, you should be fine. I had to *BORROW* a functioning diagnostic kit for a recent OSCE style examination, so always know someone who can loan you one for a couple of days if that scenario presents itself.

 

- Rupinder

 

P.S. - I'm still steamed that my GF got a her Littman stethoscope as a free gift upon starting in vet school, but I had to shell out for mine. 8o

[Guest phantom8]

I do have to say that those PanOptic Ophthalmoscopes are really nice, though. I'm still at the stage where I'm struggling to use the normal ones, but I had a chance to use a PanOptic one recently, and with the PanOptic ones, it's like you don't even have to try... just put it on the patient's eye, and you can see the fundus really easily. Also, no embarassing moments like bumping into the patient as you're squeezing in nice and close into them with the normal ophthalmoscope.

[Guest UWOMED2005]

Yeah, I've heard similar reviews of the panoptic ophthalmoscope. That's probably the one I'll go for if I need it. . .

 

IF I need it, AFTER med school. Like Ian said, I'd like to know how to use the regular one first for OSCEs, then cheat later.

[Guest stevetilley]

I heard from a classmate today that the PanOptics can transmit an eye infection if you don't clean/disinfect them well after each use. Kind of makes sense, because they actually touch the patients face right around the eye. I wouldn't want the hassle of cleaning it all the time either!!

[Guest UWOMED2005]

You'll have to do that for your stethoscope anyways. Unless you want to throw it out and buy a new one after each patient. . .

[Guest DrSahsi]

From a disease transmission perpsective, it's a little scary how little that actually happens. Mind you, its mostly skin flora that the stethoscope gets exposed to, but still. :x

 

When you're on the wards, always know where the little alcohol swabs are!

 

- Rupinder

[Guest Ian Wong]

They've done some studies and there's a whole multitude of nasty critters growing on most doctors' stethoscope heads; probably your own as well... I've always been really good about washing my hands before and after each patient encounter, but I'll be the first to admit that alcohol-swabbing my stethoscope after each patient isn't something I do as regularly.

 

Ian

[tooty]

Reviving this old thread.

 

Does anyone here have experience using the panoptic ophthalmoscope? I'm wondering if our urgent care clinic should get one. I decided that the traditional ophthalmoscope is too unreliable. I can fake it in the OSCE but I'll be damned if I'm going to base any clinical decisions on that narrow field of view. And dilating the pupils of every diabetic or hypertensive pt is too invasive imo.

[PAstudent]

Reviving this old thread.

 

Does anyone here have experience using the panoptic ophthalmoscope? I'm wondering if our urgent care clinic should get one. I decided that the traditional ophthalmoscope is too unreliable. I can fake it in the OSCE but I'll be damned if I'm going to base any clinical decisions on that narrow field of view. And dilating the pupils of every diabetic or hypertensive pt is too invasive imo.

 

Hi Tooty,

 

I have used the panoptic and found it to be good. That said, knowing it would not usually be around, I stopped using it and forced myself to only use a regular ophthalmoscope for the past year and a half and am happy that I did. It is rare that I can't do a decent fundoscopy with it now which I think is a good skill to have.

 

Is the panoptic worth it? I wouldn't spend the money on one but if I was in a place that had one and had a regular ophthalmoscope I would likely use the panoptic more.

[tooty]

Thanks PA.