The Economic Times ― ET Health World: Cognizant’s Global Delivery Head for Life Sciences Says the Transformative Impact of Connected Medical Devices Outweighs Security Concerns

“In this digital age, access to information is empowering customers to make intelligent decisions across all facets of life, healthcare included,” writes Ram Meenakshisundaram. “Consumer wearable devices herald one such significant leap. With their ability to provide real-time information (say, heartbeat) with a contextual underpinning (like location), they have opened up an entirely new wave of possibilities.” Excerpts:

“The holy trinity of wearable medical devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), and interconnectedness is now set to unleash newer and better ways to stay healthy, transforming the approach to healthcare from ‘acute and reactive’ to ‘proactive and preventive’.

With interconnectedness, quantifiable health information is available at your fingertips along with suggested measures for better outcomes.

It’s not just consumer medical devices. For instance, by gathering information about how a surgical generator is performing, a medical device enterprise can offer preventive maintenance and help improve future product design. The ability to connect islands of data into actionable insights is the precursor to such innovative possibilities.

While such transformation is enticing, it is not without challenges.

Cybercriminals or over-enthusiastic patients can potentially control the device, alter dosage, and harm others or themselves. The bigger threat, however, comes from other sources with nefarious intentions. As the devices are interconnected with servers, there is an increased exposure to risks and vulnerability.

Medical device manufacturers should have more inbuilt security mechanisms such as stronger access control, design schemes to maintain critical functionality even in adverse circumstances, and ways for graceful retention and recovery.

The transformative impact of connected medical devices far outweighs security concerns. Much like how e-commerce, mobile and online banking were adopted over time, connected healthcare is set on the path of irreversible progress.”

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