Modern hospitals need a lightweight electronic device for tasks like charting, EHR access, and remote monitoring. Medical computers are powerful and reliable but too heavy and bulky to carry around all day. What’s the solution?
The answer is a medical-grade computer tablet. These tablets are smaller and lighter than conventional PCs while still having greater functionality than smartphones. Keep reading to learn more about the requirements and advantages of these flexible devices, and then explore our medical tablets.
Medical-Grade vs. Consumer Grade: What’s the Difference?
So what is a medical-grade tablet compared to a consumer-grade product? As their name implies, medical computer tablets are designed and manufactured specifically for the healthcare environment, as opposed to the general consumer market.
Key features for medical-grade tablets include:
- IEC 60601 Certification: This safety standard ensures that medical-grade tablets are safe to use in healthcare settings and won’t interfere with other devices. IEC 60601-1 certification ensures that the device will not shock the user or patient, while IEC 60601-1-2 verifies that the tablet will not disrupt or be disrupted by other electronics due to electromagnetic interference.
- IP65 Rating: Medical devices, including electronics, must be constantly cleaned and disinfected to prevent the spread of pathogens. However, these cleaning agents can also damage a computer’s circuitry if they seep in through the casing. Therefore, medical-grade tablets are designed with casings sealed to IP65 standards, blocking out both liquids and dust.
- Integrated Scanners: Medical-grade tablets implement built-in barcode scanners and RFID readers that let them scan medication labels and patient ID bracelets. This helps providers access EHRs quickly and ensures they issue the correct medication to the correct patient.
- Hot-Swappable Batteries: These batteries can be easily removed from the tablet and replaced with freshly charged units. This means providers can swap batteries mid-shift, without having to plug in the entire tablet to recharge and lose access to their digital work tools.
- Cybersecurity Features: Given the threat of cyberattacks that healthcare faces, medical-grade tablets must have enhanced cybersecurity features compared to consumer-grade products. This includes access control methods such as biometrics, as well as data encryption features like Imprivata. These measures also enable Single Sign-On (SSO), which allows providers to switch from one device to another while maintaining their workflow and the programs they were using, as opposed to having to reopen every document and tool.
- Ruggedization and Drop Protection: As handheld devices, tablets are far more susceptible to being mishandled or dropped than typical electronics. Medical tablets must include protective measures, such as reinforced corners that can withstand impacts and chemically-hardened screens that resist cracks and scratches.
- Gloved Touch Compatibility: Most touchscreens struggle to register inputs when the user is wearing gloves. Medical tablets are calibrated to still register touch inputs while the user is wearing nitrile gloves, a common practice in healthcare.
Applications for Medical-Grade Tablets
Thanks to their portability and ease of use, medical-grade tablets are used in a wide range of roles, such as:
EHR Access
With medical-grade tablets, healthcare providers can easily review a patient’s medical history, diagnoses, treatment plans, and more. This saves time compared to digging up the physical version of those records and is easier than lugging around a full-sized medical computer.
Medication Administration
By using a tablet’s built-in scanner, providers can double-check a bottle’s label and cross-reference it against the patient’s records. This lets hospitals track how much medication is being administered, when, and by whom.
Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring
Because tablets are portable, patients can take them home with them when they leave the hospital but still require a degree of monitoring by medical staff. This gives providers a reliable means of staying in touch with the patient and saves the patient a trip to the hospital if they need to reach their provider. Built-in webcams in the front and back of the tablet also enable providers to teleconference remotely, sharing visual information and coming to a collaborative diagnosis together.
Patient Kiosks
By mounting a tablet on a permanent fixture on a wall or booth, it can serve as a patient kiosk. This lets patients check in at a hospital, review their insurance information, and make co-payments without having to speak to the hospital’s staff. This lets those staff members focus on other tasks.
Integration Into Other Medical Devices
Other medical device manufacturers will sometimes integrate a prebuilt medical tablet into their own product to serve as the computer and user interface. Using a medical-grade tablet with the correct certifications helps ensure their device maintains its own certification.
If you'd like to see firsthand how Cybernet's medical tablets can fulfill these different roles, you can apply for our demo program to receive an evaluation unit. You'll enjoy free shipping to and from your facility, a dedicated technical manager to work with you, and can keep the demo unit for free upon contract purchase.
Benefits of Medical-Grade Tablets
By choosing to use medical-grade tablets over other devices, healthcare providers can enjoy numerous benefits, such as:
Medical-Grade Certification and Design Specs
Medical tablets are designed, manufactured, and tested specifically for their role in healthcare. Compared to consumer-grade tablets, they have specific certifications, disinfectant resistance, integrated scanners, and battery-swapping features that consumer-grade devices lack. While consumer-grade tablets can replicate some of these features with accessories, such as rugged cases for drop protection or physical add-ons for scanners, they cannot offer healthcare-specific requirements like IEC 60601 certification and EHR compatibility.
Ergonomics
The greatest advantage tablets have over conventional PCs is how much smaller and lighter they are. Tablets can also integrate convenient carrying handles and straps that reduce the strain of using the device during a shift. Given that healthcare has some of the highest rates of musculoskeletal disorders in its workforce, anything that makes the job easier or more comfortable is a welcome innovation. Rather than push an entire cart with a PC attached to it, providers can simply carry a tablet with them as they perform charting or similar tasks.
Mobility
Another key advantage of tablets is that they don’t need constant access to an electrical outlet or cart-mounted battery the way PCs do. With their long-lasting batteries and wireless Internet adapters, tablets can serve in unconventional environments like ambulances, mobile health clinics, and patient homes. This helps ensure that providers can access their digital tools no matter where they work. Hot-swappable batteries extend this operational range even further and let workers
Security
Cyberattacks continue to be one of the most pressing threats that healthcare faces, with 97% of all healthcare organizations in the US reporting at least one attack in the past year. Medical-grade tablets are more secure than consumer-grade devices thanks to their built-in data encryption and access control methods. With options for biometric identification and RFID card-based access, providers can prevent unauthorized individuals from breaking into their network.
Long Life Cycles
Consumer-grade electronics are defined by annual releases and planned obsolescence. However, healthcare groups want as much return on investment as possible for their equipment and don’t want to constantly retrain their staff on new devices. Medical tablet manufacturers support their devices for long periods, with options for five-year extended warranties as an example. All of the design features that make medical tablets rugged and reliable also ensure they can serve for many years, saving money on the total cost of ownership (TCO).
Considerations for Buying Medical-Grade Tablets
If your healthcare group is considering using medical-grade tablets in its workflows, these are the most important factors to consider when choosing a model:
Cost
While the upfront cost is always a key consideration, don’t forget about the long-term operating expenses that come with electronic equipment. The TCO is a better representation of a device's expense and reflects not just the upfront sticker price, but also maintenance, repairs, and replacements. A tablet with a higher asking price can save money over time compared to a cheaper model that breaks down just a few months after purchase and has to be repaired or replaced.
Training and Adoption
Given the pace of hospital operations, healthcare groups can’t afford to spend much time on training and orientation. New medical tablets should be user-friendly and intuitive to use, and preferably support the same digital tools that providers use on their desktop PCs and workstations to reduce the amount of training needed.
Compatibility
Hospitals rely on a wide range of both modern and legacy equipment for patient care. Can your choice of tablet work with both? Does it have the operating system and performance specs to support modern EHRs and the legacy features to interact with older devices? These questions need to be answered before you commit to a purchase.
Vendor
Another key concern is whom you purchase your tablets from. If you buy from a reseller and run into technical issues, they won’t have the technical skills to repair a broken device. Purchasing directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) ensures that you have tech support when you need it the most. Working with an OEM also means you can have your order customized to your specific needs for performance, workflow support, and software compatibility, resolving many of the aforementioned concerns.
Scalability
A larger healthcare group might require dozens, even hundreds of medical tablets. This means any source you purchase from needs to be able to keep pace with such high demand. Can your chosen vendor provide enough to satisfy your needs, or will they suffer from supply chain issues?
Medical-Grade Tablets from Cybernet Manufacturing
Despite their small size and light profile, medical tablets can be the perfect computer solution for providers constantly on the move. Whether you want an ergonomic tool for providers or a user-friendly tool for remote monitoring, Cybernet’s medical tablets are ready to serve.
If you’d like to explore how our tablets can help both your employees and your patients, contact Cybernet Manufacturing today. We’d be happy to explore how our various products can answer your needs.