Thales is encouraging digital transformation and emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity in the healthcare industry. In doing so, the company highlighted some of the key trends that have emerged since the onset of COVID-19, noting that the coronavirus has created a surging interest in remote patient monitoring (RPM) solutions.
In that regard, Thales cited a pair of reports from S&P Global and FBI, the former of which found that there has been a nearly 4,000 percent increase in telehealth patient volumes over the course of 2020. The latter, meanwhile, suggested that the global telemedicine market will be valued at $185 billion in 2026, growing at a CAGR of 23.5 to get to that point.
Those gains will be realized through advances in IoT technology that improve the quality of remote care, and make it easier for doctors to tend to patients. Technologies like AI, video streaming, and virtual reality allow doctors to visit patients all over the world, even in places that would otherwise be dangerous or difficult to get to, while negating the need for face-to-face contact during a pandemic. Wearables also provide doctors with accurate patient data in real time, giving them the ability to make informed decisions that minimize the strain on emergency rooms and other elements of the medical system.
The problem, of course, is that a system with more connected devices creates more opportunities for cybercriminals. According to Thales, the vast majority (82 percent) of organizations that have deployed medical IoT devices have experienced some sort of cyberattack, a statistic that reflects cybercriminals’ interest in healthcare more generally.
That’s why healthcare organizations need to make security a priority as they move forward with their digital transformations. Providers need to be able to ensure that every endpoint is secure, and that their practices are compliant with the industry’s strict data privacy regulations.
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