TRIMEDX Senior Vice President of Cybersecurity Scott Trevino recently contributed a piece in Medical Product Outsourcing highlighting the need for federal help to combat cyber breaches and how medical device cybersecurity leaders should take action now to protect their health system and patients.
The U.S. Congress is considering three significant legislative proposals regulating medical device cybersecurity, and the FDA is finalizing its medical device cybersecurity guidance addressing pre-market expectations for device manufacturers. These government actions will aid healthcare systems in shoring up their cybersecurity defenses, but healthcare systems must take additional independent actions to fill security gaps.
Two significant healthcare data breaches occur daily, and more than two-thirds of patient care organizations have been victims. Each breach may have life-or-death consequences. Nearly one in four organizations experienced increased mortality rates after a ransomware breach, and 70% reported longer lengths of stay and poorer patient outcomes due to delays in procedures and testing. On top of patient care impacts, breaches cost healthcare systems more than $10 million on average, higher than any other industry.