In drive-through testing stations, healthcare providers are on the front lines testing patients for COVID-19. This holds a lot of promise for healthcare providers wanting to track the spread of COVID-19 and reduce exposure among the population. They need technology solutions that are simple to disinfect and reduce the spread of germs. 
Already garnering support from the healthcare community, drive-through testing stations are proving to be efficient procedures averaging 15 minutes per test.
“It’s really a much faster and safer solution,” explains Maja Artandi, MD, medical director of Stanford’s Express Care clinics in a recent Health.com article. Maja continues, “The patient is not going to expose anybody else. The clinic is not going to be exposed."
Tablet-based technologies continue to serve their purpose in healthcare facilities by improving the workflow and the patient experience. With an enclosure, tablets can enhance productivity and reduce the spread of germs for healthcare providers and patients at drive-thru testing stations.
Simple to Clean and Disinfect
Tablets build up bacteria over time. In a Bio Medical Central article journal, researchers studied the spread of pathogens in mobile devices used by healthcare workers. Researchers found Coagulase-negative, Staphylococci, and Staphylococcus aureus as common bacterium on mobile devices.
Enclosures should be compatible with cleaning products already accessible to healthcare providers, so these solutions are simple to disinfect and reduce the spread of harmful bacterium already built up on tablets.
Such is the case for MTI’s Mobility Solutions supporting tablet technologies and allowing for straightforward disinfection with cleaning products already familiar to healthcare providers.
No Metal Keys (RFID Enabled)
In a recent Business Insider news article, Dr. Jenny Harries, England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, warned the public of COVID-19 living on metal surfaces, such as keys, for up to 48 hours.
Although metal keys are showing up in drive through testing stations to help manage electronics from their respective mobile carts and cabinets, an enclosure has no use for such tools.
With MTI’s RapidDoc® tablet dock and charging solutions, healthcare providers can replace metal keys with RFID cards. Using an RFID card, tablets can easily un-dock with a single tap on RapidDoc’s® base.
This solution can also release tablets through software enabled pin codes or passwords, safeguarding healthcare providers and patients even further from the use of keys.
No Paper or Wooden Clipboards
Most healthcare providers are using paper and wooden clipboards during the checkup process. In a recent WebMD article, researchers have found COVID-19 to live on surfaces like paper and wood.
According to researchers, COVID-19 can live on paper surfaces for minutes, and up to as much as 5 days. The virus can survive on wooden surfaces for up to 4 days.
Health records, prescription orders, medical images, and other important health documents or files can be stored in a tablet electronically, eliminating the need for paper or wooden clipboards.
Portable
The tablet is lightweight, rugged, fully mobile and handheld. 
Unlike laptops, they do not need to be mounted on carts to get a user-friendly experience. Contrary to workstations on wheels, there is no wiring to limit a healthcare provider’s proximity to testing stations.
Enclosures like RapidDoc® utilize mobile tablets with ergonomic hand and shoulder straps to support use cases like drive through testing with electronic record keeping.
Conclusion
Tablets are getting more recognition as cost-effective and supportive technologies for healthcare facilities.
“Tablets have been around in healthcare for a while for a lot of use cases, but what I think is one of the things that's probably new is how widespread the adoption is,” claims Kate McCarthy, a senior analyst for health IT in a Search Health IT article. McCarthy also notes, “In some cases, it's more affordable than a mobile phone. It's a relatively easy spend.”
With enclosures, the tablet becomes a powerful and secure technology to have at locations like drive through testing stations, capable of protecting the patient and healthcare providers on the front lines of this epidemic.
Need Tablet Enclosures?
Our mobility solutions provide the safety and flexibility needed to sustain a positive patient experience for Healthcare OEMs, VARs, and integrators.
We have solutions to support healthcare providers at drive-through testing stations. Compatible with medical grade cleaning products already found in the healthcare environment.
Enclosures are now available and tailored for Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Zebra, NCR, and AAVA tablets.
Please contact us at [email protected] with questions or to request a brochure.
About MTI
MTI is a leader in global retail security, with innovative smart retail store software solutions and a global field service provider trusted by many of the world’s most successful consumer electronics retailers and brands. MTI helps clients protect high value products with innovative security solutions augmented by an open IoT platform that enables retailers to close the access control and visibility gaps between management, front line teams, in-store technology and the customer experience. In addition, MTI’s unique global service and contact center reaches over 90 countries globally providing installation, repair and training and brand advocacy solutions to retailers and brands.
