The 10 Most Innovative Companies Bringing AI to Healthcare The 10 Most Innovative Companies Bringing AI to He | Page 34
About the Author
Jeff Mongelli built and sold his
nance company 17 years ago to
GE Capital to enter the healthcare
industry. As the Founder and CEO,
Jeff built Acentec, Inc. into a
national leader in improving the
clinical and nancial performance
of healthcare organizations. He
understands that achieving the
promise of improved healthcare
through aggregated data requires
dedicated commitment to the
protection and privacy of that
information. Jeff is considered an
industry expert in IT Technology &
Security, HIPAA compliance, and is
actively involved in the eld of
articial intelligence. He is
frequently quoted in the industry's
publications and is a featured
speaker at national trade shows
and Medical Association meetings.
He's a member of the FBI's
Infragard program and a
collaborator in their Healthcare
CyberSecurity Workgroup and
also a member of Homeland
Security's Information Network.
32
It’s not just our physician encounters that have changed.
Medical devices have also seen great change. Not only do
our elderly have access to home health monitoring
equipment, but virtually every medical device being
manufactured is now either connected directly to an internal
network or onto the World Wide Web. These technological
advancements have allowed for the flow of data into
software systems that analyze, alert, and share that
information with providers throughout the care chain. The
result is leading to better health outcomes and improved
quality of life for many of us.
Sadly, it’s not all good news. The connectivity of all these
devices has created a treasure trove of opportunities for
cyber criminals. The possibility of extorting someone for
bitcoins or they’ll shut your pacemaker off is not an
unrealistic concern. In fact, a 2017 Ponemon Institute study
found that 39% of medical device manufacturers reported
attackers have taken control of their devices. Additionally,
38% of care delivery organizations said inappropriate
therapy/treatment had been delivered to patients because of
an insecure medical device. Imagine a hacker in Romania
manipulating the medicine pump connected to your arm
when you’re in the hospital – this is today’s reality.
What’s being done about it?
Truthfully, not enough. Rather than pile on the device
manufacturers themselves, let’s consider 3 stakeholders and
where each carries a share of the burden. First, it’s the device
manufacturers who’s brands are on the line, so one would
think they’re doing all they can to strengthen their final
products. That may not be the case. The Ponemon study goes
on to state most device manufacturers have yet to adopt more
stringent software and device security protocols, resulting in
production devices with vulnerable code. The urge to get to
market as quickly as possible often supersedes adhering to
the proper process of security and vulnerability testing.
Second, one must consider the security of the facilities who
house these devices, namely hospitals, other care facilities,
and even our own homes. From a hackers perspective,
medical devices are simply another node on a network, much
like a computer or a printer. That means they’re as
vulnerable as any other networked device. If medical devices
are not being routinely patched and updated, whether
manually or automatically, then they’re vulnerable to new
threats and exploits.
DECEMBER 2018