How the Internet of Things is changing health care

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the way we work and live—and for many people, it is revolutionizing health care.

The IoT in the health care industry is rapidly growing as patients and providers are utilizing more connected devices for important tasks such as patient monitoring, medication delivery, and more.

According to the Atlantic Council, there are four categories of networked medical devices:

• Consumer products for health monitoring include popular devices like the FitBit and the Nike FuelBand. These typically monitor activity and use BlueTooth technology to communicate with nearby personal mobile devices.
• Wearable, external medical devices that monitor vital signs, alert patients and caregivers of health status, and in some cases, deliver medication. Portable insulin pumps fall into this category.
• Internally embedded medical devices like pacemakers and miniature body sensors are implanted inside the patient and can communicate wirelessly with other systems and devices inside and outside the body.
• Stationary devices such as IV pumps, fetal monitors, and chemotherapy dispensing stations often use wireless networks in the home or a hospital.

IoT Health care market expected to reach $136 billion in 5 years

Due to rising rates of chronic disease, a growing demand for cost-effective treatment, and new devices and applications designed to support patients and assist medical professionals, the IoT in health care is growing in big ways. According to a report by Allied Market Research, this market is expected to reach $136 billion by 2021. Medical devices are expected to be the fastest growing segment of the booming IoT health care market.

High risks and big rewards

Although the IoT brings enormous advantages, it is not without serious information security risks. The Global State of Information Security Survey 2016 by PriceWaterhouseCoopers shows that “the number of survey respondents who reported exploits to IoT components such
 as embedded devices, operational systems, and consumer technologies more than doubled in 2015.”

When it comes to the health care market, these exploits are not only inconvenient, they can be dangerous. Targeting automated pharmacies can take needed drugs out of the hands of patients and deliver them into the hands of criminals. Hacking into a pacemaker or other lifesaving device can give a cybercriminal access to the device and any connected software, as well as the patient’s organs or systems, raising the stakes even higher.

Information security and the IoT

Many companies are taking a proactive approach to information security as it relates to the Internet of Things. In the PwC survey, 43% of respondents claim to already have an IoT security strategy in place, and an additional 26% reported they are currently implementing a strategy. These plans ideally address common security issues at the device, system, and organizational level and include directives for patients, health care providers, and third-party users. With security in mind at the development stage, health care IoT devices can be made resistant to cybercriminals and reliable and safe for patients and their doctors.

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