Need recomendations on medical grade keyboards.

April 25, 2012 9:47 AM

Need a medical grade keyboard for dental offices. Do you have some you use and would recommend?

My employer is in the midst of a huge EDR (Electronic Dental Records) migration and part of it is all new computers and peripherals. Unfortunately the directors on the project say they have to have wireless. In the end this will be a large order (About 3-500 keyboards easily). Here are the requirements:

-Wireless
-Conforms to infectious controls protocols (Clean-ability)
-Must have 10-key and integrated mouse

The wireless portion is KILLING us. We have purchased ~70 units from a company called Econokeys but with a 20% failure rate and them not being able to keep up with our demand for the project we are looking for other options. What I am hoping for is recommendations from some other medical professional/IT Person/Office staff/whatever on what they have used and would recommend.

posted by NotSoSimple to technology (6 answers total)

Cleankeys apparently has a solid surface wireless keyboard.

Removable covers also seem to be a viable option.

No personal recommendations here, though. That said, if it's a large order, you can probably get demo units from the vendors.
posted by bfranklin at 10:08 AM on April 25, 2012

I have a cleankeys on order to demo. The price is the deterrent right now. Covers no one is a fan of but I am still trying to make a pitch due to cost.
posted by NotSoSimple at 10:10 AM on April 25, 2012

Not sure what you are budgeting per unit, but here's a wireless, sealed keyboard with 10 keys and a mouse.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:34 AM on April 25, 2012

My oral surgeon uses a (I think) Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse with disposable covers. I've noticed he has some issues using the keyboard with them and I have no idea how cost-effective they are versus ones that can be disinfected. Still, they'd allow you to get a more reliable keyboard than you've got right now.
posted by tommasz at 11:47 AM on April 25, 2012

That cleankeys looks horrible to use, limited tactile feedback since it's all flat, especially if they will be wearing gloves while using it. Is this what they want to do? That's pretty gross, imo. I have a wireless keyboard and I detest the thing. I type infrequently and so invariably when I start typing, it's in sleep mode and the first keystroke doesn't register. HATE IT. And your practice wants to buy and store batteries for 3-500 keyboards? Every practice I've ever been in has had to lock up the batteries because everyone just helps themselves. I know you said the directors want this but this sounds like a bad idea. In our ORs we use standard keyboards with the covers. It's not sexy but it works without fail.
posted by karlos at 7:17 PM on April 25, 2012

The cleankeys is just one of a couple units we are getting for evaluation. The one Blazecock linked should be arriving next week also. We have ~54 practices and each location has an office manager. The office manager will be in charge of ordering/stocking/paying for batteries. I have a meeting tomorrow and will make more recommendations, but I am not confident in changing anything :)
posted by NotSoSimple at 8:38 AM on April 26, 2012