Internet of Medical Things (IOMT): Trends and Challenge

Abstract

Since the transformation from paper records to digitized Electronic Health Records (EHRs), patient data are coonly updated and then sent by doctors to specialists in other hospitals among other transactions. The problem is that caregivers are not banks, where financial information is locked up and not shared. This unencrypted information is vulnerable to profit-hungry hacker attacks. Moreover, healthcare is rapidly moving to a completely digitized environment, and, as a result, many devices have been introduced to the hospital ecosystem and bedside workflows to help extend and streamline care throughout the hospital. As hospitals move to achieve real-time visibility into their different systems and applications, reduce time away from the patient bedside, and increase the quality of care, new technology has come in to play to improve interoperability of these systems and components. Robust tools, ubiquitous devices and clinical modern networks like the IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) have allowed clinicians to become more efficient and mobile with patient care. Unfortunately, this new technology has also opened the door to increased risk and new potential points of exposure for healthcare IT infrastructures. This article discusses the challenges and the suggested steps needed to reduce vulnerabilities against such security attacks. © 2019 NADIA.