As healthcare becomes increasingly decentralized, mobileapps and other DIY healthcare devices are taking center stage. However, this medical device trend brings with it a certain set of risks — in particular, the threat of cyber breaches is looming large in consumers’ minds. In 2016, medical device companies will have to balance inroads into the mobile healthcare space with a proactive approach to cybersecurity.
Increasingly mobile healthcare
The healthcare field is increasingly going mobile, and medical devices are at the heart of this transition. PwC states that the adoption of health-related smartphone apps has doubled in the past two years, with 16 percent of all smartphone owners using them in 2013 and 32 percent using them in 2015. 2016 will see continued growth as healthcare turns more and more towards these user-friendly, DIY medical devices.
Furthermore, a PwC Health Research Institute (HRI) survey reveals that 60 percent of patients would be willing to have a video visit with a doctor through their mobile phone, while 21 percent have used their phone to order a refill of a prescription. This emphasis on remote wireless connection rather than face-to-face connection is radically transforming the medical device industry.
While these statistics relate exclusively to mobile devices, the world of remote medical devices is virtually infinite. Doctors are literally distancing themselves from patients, and are feeling more comfortable discharging patients from the hospital and monitoring them using take-home medical devices. The mobile revolution is just beginning, and it’s set to transform the entire healthcare field.
Growing concerns about cyber security
As mentioned, advances in medical devices are also raising significant consumer concerns about security. From pacemakers to infusion pumps to mobile apps, medical devices are becoming increasingly connected to the internet. According to the PwC HRI report, internet-connected healthcare products are expected to be worth approximately $285 billion by 2020.
However, with greater connectivity comes greater risk of cyber attack, and consumers are acutely aware of this connection. Consumers’ wariness is not unfounded: a successful medical device attack could cost significant amounts of money, allow attackers access to private medical data or, in the worst case scenario, harm or kill patients reliant on the targeted medical device. The PwC HRI report states that more than half of consumers would avoid, or be wary of using, a connected medical device if a cyber breach was reported.
This concern over cyber breaches extends beyond the medical device sector to affect the healthcare industry more generally. The PwC HRI Report also notes that 40 percent of consumers would abandon or hesitate to use a health organization if it was hacked.
Therefore, in 2016 medical device companies will need to prioritize cyber security. Manufacturers will have to be proactive in this area in order to maintain customer loyalty and trust, and avoid the potentially devastating consequences of an attack. This prioritization may offer new, small-cap entrants into this market an advantage: these companies could focus on creating devices that have strong security protocols already embedded, unlike the larger, more established companies that may have to do retrofitting or upgrades in this area.
Date: December 20, 2015