When my physician peers who know I’m the editor of iMedicalApps get their iPads, one of the most frequent questions I receive is not about the type of app to get — rather, it’s about the type of accessories.
I’ve decided to make a summary of the research we’ve conducted at iMedicalApps into a singular post, so it will be easy for physicians and other health care providers to quickly access this information.
We’ll start first with the hardware accessories. There are two key hardware accessories that physicians often ask about. One is a keyboard case, and the other is the type of stylus to use.
Keyboard case: It’s nearly impossible to type long medical notes with the iPad’s touch keyboard, necessitating an actual keyboard. I have a custom white coat that enables me to carry my iPad around, which is extremely useful when I’m doing consults or in other areas of the hospital. Although most hospitals, including mine, have plenty of computer portals, I prefer typing notes into my iPad since I can easily save my place and quickly reopen Citrix on my iPad.
We went through 9 various iPad keyboard cases at iMedicalApps, and David Ahn, one of our physician writers, concluded that finding the right case is dependent on how you plan to use your iPad. He recommended the ClamCase and the Crux30. Personally, I favor the Logitech Fold-Up Keyboard since it gives me a full sized keyboard and easily fits into my white coat. The full review and analysis can be found here.
The second key hardware accessory is a stylus. A stylus is extremely useful for marking up PDF files and taking notes, especially during Grand Rounds and at Journal Club. Again, David Ahn went through four popular iPad styluses, and tried to find the best one for annotating medical literature. He was a huge fan of the Adonit Jot stylus, and felt it was the best for annotating. The detailed analysis of the various styluses can be found here.
We hope these recommendations help when trying to figure out the best hardware accessories to get with your iPad.
