As IoT gains traction with the development of smart city projects in Singapore, healthcare players are recognizing the serious need to secure patient data records and connected devices.
« Truly digital patient care may be impossible without strong cybersecurity efforts behind it, » warns Sara Jost, global healthcare industry lead at Blackberry, in an analysis published in late September on Enterpriseinnovation.net. The experts gives advices to help health organizations better protect sensitive data.
Securing medical devices « becomes a top priority »
« Cybersecurity issues are one of the factors undermining the digital revolution of healthcare to truly drive towards precision medicine, collaborative care, and patient engagement, » Mrs Jost said.
Cyberattacks endanger patients
She quoted as an example the attack last year on UK’s NHS Lincolnshire and Google hospital. Both organizations canceled all their planned operations and diverted major trauma cases to neighboring facilities. If hackers manage to encrypt the health records of a patient needing immediate healthcare attention, the patient’s life may be in danger, she said. « In addition, complications created during the cybersecurity attack can last for an extended period of time even after the cybersecurity incident has been dealt with. »
Cyber piracy is on the rise in the healthcare sector
The growth of ransomware attacks worldwide and their impact on society should encourage Singapore to worry about the health of its own network of cybersecurity in order to develop a smart city, particularly in critical areas such as transport and healthcare.
« Securing the network and medical devices therefore is becoming a top priority for the healthcare industry, and now more than ever, the healthcare sector needs to ensure that they put cybersecurity efforts on par with patient care delivery. »
IoT: Singapore hospitals are developing more and more technologies
IoT has revolutionized businesses in various sectors, including the healthcare industry. According to a report published by Deloitte, wider adoption of TEC, which allows practitioners to undertake online consultations, write electronic prescriptions, diagnose and deliver treatment via remote digital monitoring, can result in direct cost savings and improved patient care services.
Singapore hospitals have also started using connected devices and are considering introducing a technology that can help doctors, nurses and patients receive medical advice from a distance. For example, the Singapore’s Integrated Health Information Systems (IHiS) team has introduced wearable devices to enable doctors to see the patient demographics, x-rays, lab results, and other such patient information.
Connected devices (pacemakers, insulin pumps, etc.) have significant advantages but they also run a risk of being attacked. For example, the FDA confirmed this year that St. Jude Medical implantable cardiac devices (USA) were vulnerable to cybersecurity intrusions, Sara Jost said.
Protecting patient data is necessary
Chief executive officer of IHiS, Mr Bruce Liang, announced at the end of May that the Singapore government will facilitate access to patient’s medical history and treatments for any doctors.
Patients also have the ability to store their health information on an electronic database and thus to better understand and manage their health themselves.
These initiatives are linked to Singapore’s wider vision of promoting innovative and integrated models of care in the healthcare sector and using big data to develop evidence-based public health policies.
Cybersecurity: Insurers increase their rates
« This is a bold move, » the expert said. « IHiS recognises that technological advancements also bring with them risk: the risk of patient records and other sensitive data making its way into the wrong hands is a very real threat that healthcare operators run. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights, one in two Americans were affected over this last year by a data breach in healthcare. Furthermore, cyber liability insurers raised their premiums threefold for healthcare providers as this has been the most attacked industry two years running, surpassing the financial sector. «
Operators therefore need to recognize that the data is as important as their patients and take the necessary measures to mitigate risk, Sara Jost analyzed.
5 tips to better protect health data
Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Information in Singapore, urges citizens to recognize that cybersecurity is the responsibility of everyone, from organizations to individuals.
Mrs Jost gives five steps that healthcare professionals can take to move in the right direction:
« It can be said that technology gives healthcare providers a way to efficiently deliver the best quality medical services, but they have to develop a strong security framework to ensure the smooth functioning of their business without compromising on patient care, » Sara Jost said. She believes that data security should be a priority for Singapore, with its vision for a smart nation, for the government but also for businesses and community.