According to Cynerio’s 2022 State of Healthcare IoT Device Security Report, 53% of internet-connected medical devices analyzed had a known vulnerability, while one-third of bedside devices had a critical risk. (Cynerio observed over 10 million medical devices at over 300 hospitals and medical facilities across the world). As per the findings, more than half of health enterprise-connected medical devices pose security risks due to critical flaws that could jeopardize patient care.

The healthcare industry is beginning to digitally transform with its adoption of continuously advancing technologies. Healthcare organizations are moving toward a more connected and collaborative healthcare ecosystem for improving the way they provide care. Any data-driven organization knows the importance of high-quality data pipelines in data science. The large amounts of heterogeneous healthcare data, call for healthcare organizations to adopt data-driven approaches to automate medical workflows.

Growing concerns surrounding medical device security are increasing across the globe. In the U.S., new legislation is being introduced due to the increasing number of connected devices and a cyberattack’s ability to disrupt patient care. On June 8, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed bill, H.R. 7667, which in addition to several other items, is meant to address the cybersecurity of medical devices.

Are you using any software that is related to an individual’s information? Anything that deals with patient data? Any applications or tools that deal with the data of a person or a group of people? If your answer is yes, then this question is for you. How compliant is your company’s software with HIPAA while dealing with all those details?

Digital therapeutics (DTx) companies provide software-backed therapeutic interventions to help prevent, manage, or treat a medical disorder or disease. For example, health tech unicorn Hinge Health partners advanced wearable sensors, mobile applications, and a clinical care team to enable digital physical therapy for elective musculoskeletal (MSK) surgeries, driving lower costs and a reduction in medical claims.

Inspired by an article from Jim Dempsey, lecturer at the UC Berkeley Law School and a senior policy advisor at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, I decided to write about the recent legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives to address cybersecurity for medical devices and how it relates to open source software security, secure code standards, and static analysis.

As the rapid digitization of healthcare grows, telehealth apps face a unique challenge in delivering continuous care on familiar devices. The demand for telehealth apps only compounds the need for healthcare software testing to ensure a great user experience while scaling quickly and efficiently. Partnering with a crowdsourced testing vendor opens up immediate access to coverage for devices and locations, accelerated testing velocity, zero operational overhead, and increased ROI.

New breakthroughs in drug development are leading to groundbreaking results that could change lives in 2022 and beyond. However, at the dawn of a new decade, there are major challenges facing the industry that could prevent this innovation revolution. With the rising costs and increasing complexities involved in bringing products to market, life sciences organizations are re-examining their business operations and technology adoption.

July 20, 2022 — Testlio, the originator of networked testing, has released a comprehensive report that identifies trends and benchmarks in medical and health app software testing. The report examines the release frequency, app store ratings, and testing device coverage practices of health, fitness, and medical apps.