Common Challenges with Medical Devices in General Practice: Ear, Eye, and Skin

In general practice, accurate examination of the ears, eyes, and skin is essential to providing quality care. Yet many GPs continue to work with diagnostic tools that are outdated, fragmented, or simply not fit for the modern consulting room. Below, we explore the key challenges that clinicians face with current devices in routine ear, eye, and skin assessments.

1. Fragmented, Single-Purpose Devices

Most general practices rely on a variety of standalone tools—otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, dermatoscopes—each designed for a specific task. This setup is inefficient, increases equipment costs, and clutters the workspace. Switching between multiple devices disrupts workflow, particularly in short consults.

2. Limited Visualisation and Diagnostic Confidence

Many standard tools offer inadequate optics or outdated light sources. For example:

• Otoscopes may provide a narrow view, making it hard to fully assess the tympanic membrane.

• Dermatoscopes might lack sufficient magnification or polarisation, reducing lesion assessment accuracy.

• Ophthalmoscopes require advanced skill, offers only a small field of view, and is highly technique-dependent.

3. Discomfort and Limited Use of Ophthalmoscopes

Traditional direct ophthalmoscopes require the clinician to get extremely close to the patient—often just a few centimetres apart—to visualise the retina. This close proximity is uncomfortable for both the GP and the patient, especially in today’s infection-conscious environment. In addition, the retinal view is limited, and the examination window is short, making it difficult to assess subtle retinal pathology or perform routine screening effectively.

4. Lack of Imaging and Documentation

Traditional diagnostic tools rarely allow photo or video capture. Without this, GPs cannot:

• Track changes over time

• Seek second opinions via telehealth

• Educate and involve patients in shared decision-making

• Document findings for medicolegal protection

5. Time Wasted in Manual Documentation

Without imaging, GPs must depend on detailed written descriptions to document clinical findings. This approach is time-consuming, subjective, and hard to standardise—particularly in busy practices. In fact, 14.2% of a GP’s time is spent on non-billable tasks such as documentation, updating health records, managing referrals, reviewing results, and searching through past notes or correspondence. Manually recording details like lesion features or tympanic membrane appearance only adds to this administrative burden.

6. Poor Ability to Review or Compare Over Time

Without stored images, follow-up assessments rely heavily on memory or vague notes. This limits a GP’s ability to:

• Confirm whether a lesion has changed in size, colour, or shape

• Assess the healing of ear infections or tympanic membrane perforations

• Monitor progression or resolution of conditions with confidence

7. Missed Opportunities in Chronic Eye Disease Management

In conditions such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration, early detection and longitudinal monitoring of retinal changes are critical. Yet in most general practices:

• Basic Ophthalmoscopes do not support image capture

• Retinal changes are not tracked over time

• Referrals may be delayed due to lack of visual evidence

Without imaging, GPs miss key opportunities for timely intervention and collaborative care with optometrists or ophthalmologists.

8. Flimsy Smartphone Adapters and Privacy Risks

In an effort to capture images, some clinics use smartphone adapters attached to basic otoscopes or dermatoscopes. However, GPs reporting back that these attachments are often flimsy, unstable, and difficult to align properly. Images taken with smartphones:

• Vary significantly in quality, focus, and colour balance

• Are stored on personal devices, raising serious privacy, confidentiality, and medicolegal concerns

• Are not integrated into clinical software, requiring inefficient workarounds to transfer and store data securely

This approach is neither reliable nor compliant with best-practice clinical documentation standards.

9. Poor Integration with Practice Software

Most diagnostic tools are not connected to EMR systems. This forces GPs to rely on manual workarounds (e.g. smartphone photography or dictated notes), which compromise efficiency, documentation quality, and medico-legal safety.

10. Usability and Training Variability

Diagnostic accuracy is often affected by the clinician’s familiarity with each tool. Locums, registrars, and GPs new to the practice may find traditional devices difficult to use effectively, particularly ophthalmoscopes and dermatoscopes.

Moving Forward

To address these challenges, a shift toward multifunctional, digital, and connected devices is accelerating. Advanced tools now combine otoscopy, dermatoscopy, and ophthalmoscopy in one compact, wireless unit—with HD imaging, image capture, and direct integration into EMR systems.

These devices not only improve diagnostic accuracy but enable continuity of care, support early diagnosis of chronic eye conditions, and facilitate patient education and engagement.

The iXope Solution

iXope is specifically designed to address these challenges in modern general practice. As a compact, high-tech, multifunctional device, iXope combines otoscopy, dermatoscopy, and ophthalmoscopy in a single wireless unit. It delivers high-definition images, enables photo and video capture, integrates directly with EMR systems, and enhances documentation while improving diagnostic confidence.

iXope also functions as a general-purpose surgical microscope, supporting minor procedures that require enhanced magnification and lighting—making it not just a diagnostic tool, but a procedural asset in the consulting room.

With digital visualisation, patient-friendly displays, and streamlined documentation, iXope supports better care, improved workflows, and smarter chronic disease management—all in one device.

Final Thought

With rising chronic disease burdens, Medicare reform, and growing demand for digital documentation and efficiency, upgrading diagnostic tools is no longer a luxury—it’s an essential part of delivering safe, high-quality care in general practice. iXope is helping lead this transformation.