RFID | Tangent Blog

RFID Ready Medical Computers

January 25, 2022January 25, 2022 Tangent Writing Team

What Is RFID?

RFID stands for Radio-Frequency Identification. The technology standard is made up of RFID tags and readers. These tags have small radio receivers and transmitters inside them. When in contact with a reader, the tag will respond and transmit information it is carrying to the reader.

These tags can be used for a wide variety of tracking applications across the hospital. One area in which they can be used is in the tracking of patients in the hospital. Patients can have tags built right into their wristbands. These wristbands can then be used to access various doors and areas in the hospital. Your facilities team can set up each wristband to allow for certain privileges and access to specific areas. With these tags, you can ensure that the right people are in the hospital in the right areas.

Medical Computers With Wireless Readers

RFID readers are the other half of the RFID equation. They pick up the information from tags and display it on devices. Many medical computers rely on clunky RFID reader adapters. These adapters take up ports on the medical computer, as well as desk space. Further, they are prone to being accidentally disconnected and lost.

Medical computers like the Medix 22B feature an integrated SSO RFID. This reader allows doctors and nurses to quickly and easily sign onto the medical computer with ease. They can simply wave their enabled badge to the medical computer’s reader to gain access to their computer. This solves two problems in one.

First, your medical staff need strong, long, and complex passwords. By having your IT department tie badges to safe passwords, your hospital can have an increased layer of cyber security. Second, this allows your medical staff to have long passwords without having to remember them exactly or input them slowly everytime they access their computer.

RFID Ready Medical Computers

RFID tags and readers are quickly becoming a required tool in every workplace, including the hospital. Medical computers with built-in readers help your hospital stay on top of the future and prepare for what’s next. Make sure your hospital has the right tools by calling Tangent Sales today and asking about their range of RFID enabled devices.

medical computers with built in nfc readers

Medical Computers With NFC Readers

November 2, 2021November 1, 2021 Michelle

Wireless communication is playing an increasingly important role in Healthcare. From doctors transitioning away from pagers to smartphones, to their increasing reliance on email communications: hospitals rely on wireless communication. But one area of wireless communications that is easy to look over is near-field communication (NFC). These devices allow your doctors, nurses, and medical staff to easily and safely perform routine tasks in the blink of an eye. With medical computers that have NFC readers, your hospital can take full advantage of NFC devices — without needing a mountain of adapters and dongles.

What Is NFC?

NFC enabled devices can be us3ed for digital payments, sign-ins, and more

NFC is a type of communication protocol that allows for two electronic devices within 4 centimeters to communicate. This technology also falls into the broader RFID scope, which encompasses many types of communication protocols of various lengths and capabilities. These devices specifically however are designed for situations where one device “taps” another. You may have a debit card or smartphone capable of making payments with a simple tap — that is made possible by NFC technology.

NFC Applications In Healthcare

There are many different applications for NFC tag technology. We’ve already gone over their use for payments, but they have many other uses as well. In the medical field, tags can be used for a number of applications:

Building Access: tags can be used as “keys” in order to access sensitive rooms, keep the public out of specific areas, and keep medicine cabinets locked. tags can also track specific entries and exits made by tag holders.
Digital Access: tags can be used by doctors and medical staff to access various levels of digital information. For example, electronic health records can be kept behind a digital wall, made accessible only by medical staff with the proper clearance level on their tag.
Smart Patient IDs: Patient wristbands can be equipped with tags for better tracking and monitoring. On-call nurses can easily scan these wristbands to get a quick list of a patient’s allergies, dietary restrictions, and more.

Best Medical Computers With Built-In NFC Readers

Tangent offers a number of medical computers with a wide range of RFID, Smart Card, and NFC capabilities. The T24B from Tangent comes with an optional NFC reader that can handle all of your digital reading needs. On top of these, the T24B also comes equipped with an optional RFID and Smart Card reader, covering all of the close-communication bases.

Tangent: Connect Better

Tangent strives to create technology that hospitals can not only use today, but also well into the future. NFC readers have become widely adopted in the healthcare industry, and their applications are near limitless. Medical computers from Tangent that feature these readers can help your hospital stay connected. For more information, contact Tangent Sales today.

Industrial Grade Computers For Chemical Processing

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 Michelle

Chemical processing and refining plants are some of the most technologically advanced and complex industrial facilities known to man. The changing of one group of compounds into another is a process that requires time, energy, and money. But there is a way to save all three of these during the course of production. With industrial grade computers from Tangent, your chemical processing plant can achieve a level of production unseen.

Industrial Computers For Chemical Processing

We are in the midst of a new industrial revolution. Utilizing the power of industrial grade computers, factories are transforming into smart factories. That’s not just some label either, sensors, cameras, and tracking systems are working in tandem with industrial grade computers to produce levels of productivity only before dreamed of. Chemical processing plants don’t have to miss out on this revolution either.

Rugged Mini O Industrial Computer From Tangent — Rugged Mini O From Tangent

With industrial grade computers from Tangent, smart chemical plants are possible. Industrial grade computers like the Rugged Mini O from Tangent are perfect for chemical processing plants. With a rugged exterior and IP69K certification, the Rugged Mini O can take any beating that your chemical processing plant throws at it. With full water resistance and dust resistance, this industrial grade computer can work in nearly any environment in your facility and maintain your computational needs.

Industrial Grade Computers For Monitoring

With the transition to a smart facility comes the need to parse and understand vasts swaths of data. Luckily, with an industrial grade computer by your chemical engineers’ side this is completely manageable. Industrial grade computers like the Vita KW are perfectly suited for monitoring data. With a large touchscreen, workers can easily take a peek into what is happening during production without halting it.

VITA KW Line of Industrial PCs — VITA KW Line Of Industrial Computers

With a system of sensors and production modules such as RFID trackers, your workers can manage the supply and output of your industrial equipment with ease.

Do More With Tangent

It’s no secret that with better technology, productivity increases. With Tangent industrial computers by your side, your productivity can increase and help your facility enter into the future as a smart facility. Chemical processing plants are poised for a revolution in productivity, contact Tangent Sales to learn more about how our lineup of industrial grade computers can aid your facility.

The Importance Of Digital Health Records

December 11, 2019December 12, 2019 Michelle

In no other field is staying on the edge of technology as important as it is in the medical field. Each day, new advances in medical technology are helping people live longer, happier lives. While some technology can assist in diagnosing, patient care, or even surgery, we should not overlook the clerical side of technology that is making hospital paperwork far more efficient.

According to a study commissioned by Phillips on future health, 80% of medical professionals have shared information electronically and 76% utilize digital health records (DHRs) on their medical grade PCs. However, despite this large DHR utilization, only 57% report that having full access to a patient’s DHR has positively impacted them. With the disparity between these two statistics, it’s important to address the lack of enthusiasm surrounding the widespread implementation of DHR use.

Ditch The Pen And Paper

While DHRs are quickly becoming the de facto method of patient information storage, sometimes vital information is left out unintentionally. When doctors take pen and paper notes, or rely on scribes to take notes for them, they create valuable insight into a patient’s life. What they eat, their allergies, their daily routines; all things that can directly affect their health. However, there is no guarantee that these hard copy notes will ever be digitized, and potentially life saving details can be left out of the DHR. Encourage your medical staff to fully utilize their medical grade PC when taking notes to ensure that all patient information is digitized. Many medical grade PCs and medical panel PCs come equipped with a front facing camera, so in the event a staff member does write down crucial information, it can be easily added to the patient’s DHR.

Easy Information Access

While professional medical staff may find DHRs easy to use when they have them, they may be off put by how difficult they are to find. Medical panel PCs with smartcard readers and RFID technology can rectify this problem by allowing professional medical staff to safely and securely store the pathing to patient information, without having to worry about memorizing the correct way to get to the patient’s information. The same smartcard technology can be used to allow professional medical staff to login to their medical panel PC or medical grade PC without having to remember a long and complex password, saving them from a potential headache and call to I.T. The RFID technology utilized by medical grade PC’s can also be used to track medical equipment that is shuffled around the hospital, allowing for every item to be accounted for.

Ease Of Access

It’s no secret that some people are averse to technology, but that does not mean we can’t make them more comfortable with it in the workplace. Medical panel PCs are medical grade PCs that feature a sleek, all in one design. That means that they can function as fully fledged medical grade PCs without needing a bulky tower, keyboard, mouse, or separate monitor. Simply plug them in, and they are good to go. The simplicity of medical panel PCs’ design and their robust features such as smartcard readers and RFID technology means that they are sure to raise professional medical staff’s mood towards the digital side of their job. Medical grade PCs are built for the medical world, and can make medical staff’s use of DHRs far more positive.

Is RFID Safe?

January 15, 2019January 15, 2019 Michelle

RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology has been found to generate considerable cost savings and increase efficiency in a variety of sectors like supply chain management, asset management, and information technology departments due to its ability to capture data without any human intervention.

Utilizing RFID in healthcare has been explored with great interest in recent years not only because of a legislative mandate to use new technology in healthcare, but for its potential to benefit patient safety, provide accurate patient and asset tracking, and enhance efficiencies in patient care. For example, RFID systems can identify medical staff, patients, medications, and blood sampling data all in real time.

The adoption of RFID in hospitals has been somewhat slow due to questions about data security, privacy, and concerns about radio frequency interruption due to older infrastructure in many facilities. However, apprehension about these risks largely stem from unfamiliarity with the technology and poor implementation strategies. These issues can be mitigated with in-depth analyses of risk/benefits, return on investment analyses, extensive testing prior to implementation, educating staff on the technology and its benefits, and taking steps for appropriate security measures to ensure patient privacy.

Tangent is well aware of the national mandate from the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Clinical Health) Act of 2015 to implement new health information technology and improve healthcare delivery. With that, they aim to stay at the forefront of technology that can be integrated into their medical devices.

medixt13

An excellent example is the Tangent Medix T13 medical tablet PC. This tablet is packed with a treasure trove of useful features for only being 13” inches. The enclosure is factory treated with a medical grade antimicrobial coating and is rated at an IP54 level of protection against contaminant or liquid ingress into the unit. The touchscreen is a PCAP multitouch, the computer’s Ultramobile processor can be an Intel Core i7, i5, or Celeron, and the unit has TPM 2.0 support.

The Medix medical tablet has a full-slot smart card reader and SD card readers. This allows for clocking in, secure logging in to the system, accepting payments and a great number of other uses with a card. An optional barcode scanner can allow for scanning of medications or patient wristbands. A desktop charging cradle, wall and vehicle mounting accessories, and a handheld wrist strap for the T13 medical tablet provide numerous ways to interact with the device.

And keeping with the topic of this blog entry, an optional RFID reader in the T13 medical tablet allows hospital staff to identify, track, and retrieve data on most anything in the facility.

As hospitals and clinics are urged to adopt newer technologies by governing bodies, it’s important for providers to stay ahead of the curve on offering these features in their computing devices. Tangent’s mission is to provide medical care providers all the tools they need to give the best care and to stay up-to-date with regulations and recommendations. When implemented correctly, technologies like RFID can create highly visible benefits to both patients and care facilities.