Enhance Security and Hygiene: Your Guide to Keyboards with Smart Card Readers in Healthcare

In today’s fast-paced healthcare environments, maintaining sanitized peripherals along with managing secure access to systems and sensitive patient data is more critical than ever. Traditional keyboards often aren’t designed for high-level sanitization or secure login protocols. That’s where a waterproof and ergonomic keyboard with built-in mount and smart card reader may be the answer.

Utilizing a keyboard with smart card readers is helping healthcare facilities address a dual challenge: safeguarding sensitive data without compromising hygiene. When using waterproof and washable equipment like Seal Shield’s Cleanwipe Pro keyboard in tandem with rf IDEAS’ WAVE ID® reader, hospitals can create an access control solution that meets both infection control protocols and cybersecurity requirements.

In this blog, we’ll discuss key topics, including:

• What is a smart card reader keyboard?

• The types of card readers

• Applications of smart card readers in healthcare settings

• The benefits of the Seal Shield and rf IDEAS’ bundle

What Is a Smart Card Reader Keyboard, and How Does It Work?

A smart card reader is an electronic device that communicates with a smart card via RFID (radio frequency identification) technology. The primary purpose is to authenticate users securely. To authenticate, healthcare personnel tap their badge on the reader, which transmits encrypted data between the card and the host device—often a workstation or medical terminal. The process is both fast and secure, reducing the reliance on traditional passwords that are easily forgotten or compromised. More hospitals are relying on RFID technology as the ASHP Foundation reported, “Forty percent of the survey respondents have implemented RFID, and 31% are beginning to explore its use.”

Where are smart card readers used?

Smart card readers are widely used in healthcare, finance, government, and other sectors that require secure access to data. In healthcare, smart card readers are used in areas, such as workstations-on-wheels (WOWs). These are all places where access to systems like patient databases, medical imaging tools, and billing records must be tightly controlled. 

What are the three types of smart cards?

Smart cards typically fall into three categories: contact, contactless, and dual-interface. Each offers different levels of security and use-case compatibility. A contact smart card reader needs the card inserted. For contactless, the cards must be near the reader as they communicate wirelessly. Dual-interface cards support both methods. 

The Cleanwipe Pro and WAVE ID® card reader combo offers contactless authentication. The solution makes it practical for high-traffic clinical settings that demand both speed and sanitation. 

What is the difference between a magnetic card reader and a smart card reader?

Magstripe card readers, short for magnetic stripe readers, access data stored on the magnetic stripe of a card, similar to those used with traditional credit cards. The process involves swiping a card through a reader that decodes the magnetic strip embedded on the back. Exposure to moisture, dust, and routine handling can easily degrade the stripe, making it unreadable over time.

In contrast, contactless smart card readers interact with a chip embedded in the card itself. For healthcare environments managing protected patient information, smart card readers offer significantly better protection. These chips have robust encryption, helping to thwart medical identity theft and assist facilities with maintaining HIPAA compliance. 

How do I choose the right keyboard with smart card reader?

Consider your industry’s compliance requirements, your workflow, and the devices in use. Do you require support for SSO? Is passwordless access a goal? Must the device be compatible with your disinfecting protocols? 

In demanding environments like hospitals, passwords “delay the EHR charting and documentation process, eating up clinician time and causing burnout,” per Forbes. With the Seal Shield Cleanwipe Pro + rf IDEAS solution, the WAVE ID® reader utilizes Single Sign-On (SSO), cutting down the login process and reducing password fatigue. Another benefit is Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) that ensures authorized individuals are granted access to vital systems like EHRs.

The IBM X-Force 2025 Threat Intelligence Index reports that the “number of infostealers delivered via phishing emails per week increase[d] by 84%.” For healthcare specifically, attackers seek “to obtain access credentials for broader campaigns or resale in underground markets.” Passwordless authentication can help facilities reduce the risk of phishing attacks.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate “that up to 3.5 million patients could die each year from HAIs without urgent action.” That devastating number reflects the urgency for healthcare facilities to implement washable and waterproof solutions that can handle industrial-grade disinfectants. The Cleanwipe Pro is waterproof, washable, IP68-rated and engineered to handle chemical disinfectants used in hospitals. 

Adding Value with the Seal Shield + rf IDEAS Bundle

Combining a smart card reader with a medical-grade keyboard adds a layer of practicality and protection. The Seal Shield Cleanwipe Pro is a fully waterproof and washable keyboard, engineered for high-touch environments like hospitals. The keyboard was designed with a built-in card reader mount, assuring firm attachment. The Cleanwipe Pro allows for better infection prevention that is not provided with traditional Velcro attachment methods which pose a hygiene risk due to its textured surface trapping contaminants.

When paired with the rf IDEAS WAVE ID® reader, the result is a dual-purpose solution that supports both infection prevention and logical access control.

This integration enables:

• Fast, secure tap-in/tap-out access

• Protection from cross-contamination through full cleanability

• Compatibility with medical-grade disinfectants

Your Next Step Toward Secure and Hygienic Access

As healthcare environments become more digitized, the need for integrated, secure, and easy-to-use access control systems will only grow. Unlike traditional keyboards, smart card reader keyboards enable seamless integration of login processes. Using an ergonomic keyboard with a washable design and built-in card reader mount allows you to streamline workflows, secure patient data, and improve infection control.

The Seal Shield and rf IDEAS collaboration offers healthcare facilities the means to improve workflow efficiency while protecting patient data. Buy the bundled solution and elevate your facility today.