Best equipment for video consultations

Best equipment for video consultations in General Practice

Do you want to know the best equipment for video consultations in primary care and General Practice?

This blog will show you webcams, microphones and more than you may want to consider. This does contain affiliate links but all the products shown I have tried and tested unless mentioned.

Best Webcam for video consultations

With more clinicians and patients looking towards video consultations, having the right tools is key.

Best webcams for video consultations in GP

In this episode, I review three common webcams and show you which options are best, compared with using an in-built webcam. 

I review the Logitech C920 HD, Logitech C270 and the Dericam.

Logitech C920 HD

Many eGPlearners will know of my love of this webcam. It shoots in high-quality HD, is simple to use, has good audio and great autofocus. It also is a great option to use for video conferencing so it can double up effectively. It is the most expensive of the three and this may be an issue to some, but being able to use it on a separate stand and get with privacy covers (although often cheaper if bought separately) it is hard not to like this webcam and is my recommended webcam for video consultations. 

Logitech C270

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by this webcam. It is easily the best budget option with great audio. The camera doesn’t shoot in full HD, but this may not be an issue for many. The lack of stand attachment is an issue for me because of my preference of how I use my webcams when consulting but if this is not for you then it is the best budget webcam for video consultations in my view. 

Dericam

I want to like the dericam. A webcam the cost of the C270 but the capabilities of the C920 HD. However, for video consultations, I find the dericam falls short of the C270. The wide-angle lens is better suited to video conferencing, and unfortunately, the in-built audio is not the best, but if you want a webcam that does the job it is often the cheapest available for the job. 

Other webcams

Other webcams you may want to consider, are the Logitech Brio and the B525. 

The Brio is the market leader in quality and cost and shoots in 4k definition. I would easily argue this is unnecessary for video consultations and would not recommend it unless you had the money to burn. The B525 may seem more sensible and its swivel head and business credentials make it attractive. However, it shoots at the same definition as the C270 and is double the cost just for a swivel head. I would not recommend the cost and would argue at that level the C920 HD is the better option. 

Stands

Having a separate stand is a must in my view for webcam placement. I must admit I recommend a simple desk stand like this octopus one that I use. It is the perfect height for mid-screen placement and does the job. My switchpod I use more for video conferencing as the height is useful. 

I know many clinicians use their phones for video consultations and you will then need a different type of holder. I cover my best options in this video here:

For my key options that I use consider the Tryone tablet stand for individual clinicians or the group buy option for practices.

Microphones:

I do recommend if able, to have a separate microphone than the webcam. This just improves the audio significantly. Here are some excellent options which I will be reviewing shortly.

Tonor desktop microphone: https://amzn.to/2TSaKCK

Blue Snowball: https://amzn.to/3cCZdQ4

MPOW corded headset: https://amzn.to/2TxrNuP

MPOW wireless headset: https://amzn.to/38t3Rgp

I will share my review of these soon but the Blue brand is always reliable. 

Keyboards

We spend most of our time using a keyboard but spend little time on the quality of the equipment we use. Much of this is due to the concept of provision and not wanting to enhance our experience, however, having a good quality keyboard and wrist rest is really important to improve your typing speed. I will be doing a more complete review shortly, but for now, at least use a decent wrist rest and mouse rest like this.

Additional tools:

Sometimes extra tools help. I know many get worried about the power of Google and webcam security. That is easy to fix, use a webcam privacy cover. These two are options with a plain or panda flavour version. 

Also, I love having a headphone hook for my equipment. It just makes it so accessible. This one on Amazon is great as it hangs off my monitor rather than my desk so less chance errant children will grab them in my consultation room.