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HealthcareEssential Accessories for Medical Computers

The day has finally arrived: your hospital’s new medical computers are here. You can’t wait to dive in and get everything set up… only to realize you forgot to order mice and keyboards to go with them.

Yes, the right computer is essential for any hospital’s operations. But they’re utterly useless unless you can access them. Thus, computer accessories are just as important. The right stuff can help with everything computer-related, from telehealth to medication dispensing. Here are some must-have computer accessories to equip your hospitals and medical clinics.

Mice and Keyboards

We have first up the classic mice and keyboards. These should look familiar and with good reason. While many modern medical devices come with touchscreens, nothing beats the precision of a mouse when you need to double-click or drag something around. This is doubly true for typing, where a good keyboard is irreplaceable. (Rapid data entry using touchscreens is still the stuff of science-fiction.)

Choosing mice and keyboards requires a bit more thought in medical settings. There’s a lot of cleaning throughout the day (and night!), which can prove damaging to equipment, including computers. So, when selecting the right mice and keyboards for your hospital, make sure they have special features that make them more suitable for the job. Specifically, the mice and keyboards should come with rubber coatings or seals that allow disinfecting and cleaning without worrying about damaging their internal parts.

Headsets and External Speakers

Headsets and speakers have become essential for many healthcare providers, especially with the increased use of telehealth. After all, what’s the point of chatting virtually if neither the doctor nor the patient can hear each other?

Headsets are great for personal use and keeping distractions to a minimum. They are also handy for listening to audio files, like dictated notes about a patient’s condition. Also, comfort is an important consideration when selecting the right headset—you’ll want something that fits well without pinching your ears.

External speakers work better for group listening. You’ll want to make sure to get a good pair with good sound quality.; The last thing anyone wants is for either party to mishear each other: that could lead to serious errors from misdiagnosis to the wrong prescription or treatment to the wrong drug strength.

Webcams

A fairly modern innovation, webcams allow for that important face-to-face communication between providers and patients during telehealth sessions. While some computers come with built-in webcams, many don’t. Thankfully, there are plenty of external ones available to plug into your machine.

External Storage Devices

Many hospitals and medical groups keep their data online, aka the “cloud.” However, sometimes they’ll want something a bit more physical, especially for security reasons. External hard discs (HD) and solid-state drives (SDD) are perfect for expanding your computer’s storage space safely and securely. They’re also great when transferring large files between computers and other devices.

Battery Charging Stations

Battery-powered computers like tablets and laptops are popular in healthcare, especially for tasks like charting and mobile computing. These have been specially built with swappable batteries, allowing them to replace the spent ones with fresh, recharged ones. You’ll thus want some sort of a charging station nearby your workstation for this easy swapping of batteries.

Barcode Scanners and RFID Readers

Barcodes are those black-and-white lines you see printed on many products, while radio frequency identification (RFID) are tiny squares found in others. In medicine, they’re crucial for asset tracking and medication dispensing. Thus, you’ll often find barcode scanners and RFID readers integrated into medical tablets and computers. A nurse can scan a medication bottle’s label and check it against the patient’s electronic health record (EHR) to ensure the correct dosage at the correct time.

Privacy Filters

Privacy filters are a must for healthcare computers. They help protect against “visual hacking,” which is where someone could steal private data and information just by glancing at a computer screen. These filters are directly behind the screen or attached externally for easy removal.

Reading Lights

Lighting in hospital wards gets dimmed or turned off at night to help patients sleep. Staff, though, still need to review documents and take notes during night shifts. Reading lights can easily be mounted onto a desk or computer to help them see since the computer monitor’s own lighting can cause eye strain.

Ergonomic Chairs

Doctors and other medical staff spend long hours sitting at their desks, leading to lower back issues. To prevent them, which are common among healthcare workers, An ergonomic chair is essential—not just for comfort but also for promoting good posture and providing lumbar support.

Cable Management Kits

All these accessories come with their own cables, which can quickly turn into a tangled mess. Invest in a cable management kit with ties, straps, and clips, which can keep everything organized and neat.

Conclusion

Choosing the right accessories can enhance the functionality of your medical-grade computers, making your operations smoother and more flexible. When you’re on the hunt for accessories, make sure they’re durable and secure enough for the healthcare field.

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