Over the years, technology has accelerated at a rapid pace. We see improvement in various areas of our life with the advancement in technology; the way we use gadgets and equipment for learning, communicating, transporting, and for health emergencies. Innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, robotics, and smart gadgets have greatly impacted the healthcare industry.The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated the need for early detection of infection, isolation, social distancing, and minimal human interference to reduce the transmission of the virus.Digital healthcare technologies play a significant role in supporting epidemiological intelligence right from online datasets, identifying clusters of infections, monitoring travel patterns, rapid trace contacts, and communication of public-health messages.<h3 id="blockchain-as-a-catalyst-to-streamline-healthcare-services">Blockchain As A Catalyst to Streamline Healthcare Services</h3>Blockchains are publicly distributed ledger transactions that are managed by a peer-to-peer network for use.In healthcare technology, blockchain enables the medical community and researchers to create a single database for all medical data; real-time tracking of patient medical records that allows healthcare workers, doctors, and patients to share information safely and quickly.Blockchain technology could be used in storing electronic medical records enabling coordinated care for patients within the network. The shared data of blockchain allows the capture of comprehensive data sets from various countries; including various ethnic groups, geographic areas, environments, and socio-economic backgrounds. This provides health researchers access to vast data samples to study diseases, facilitate new medical discoveries, design patient-specific treatment, and track and develop drugs quickly.The advantages of blockchain to the healthcare industry are - easy accessibly to electronic medical records, remote monitoring of patients, transparency, and quick accessibility of data for health insurance claims.<h3 id="robotic-process-automation-rpa-in-healthcare-technology">Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in Healthcare Technology</h3>Healthcare providers of various departments in a hospital need to perform multiple tasks which are repetitive such as:<ul><li>Patient admission</li><li>Patient scheduling</li><li>Scheduling medical professionals for the job</li><li>Shift assignment</li><li>Collecting patient data and report,</li><li>Billing</li><li>Claims processing</li></ul>RPA and automation address these issues making the healthcare system faster, efficient, minimizing errors, and improved patient satisfaction.Some of the ways RPA streamlines hospital automation<ul><li>Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Management ? RPA helps keep medical records updated, synced, and be made accessible to various other departments such as labs, admin, billing, pharmacies, and claims to execute their duties.</li><li>Regulatory Compliance ? Ensuring the security of sensitive patient information by restricting the data access to authorized persons and thereby adhering to the compliance and data privacy regulations.</li><li>Managing Staffing Levels ? Caregivers are crucial to the smooth functioning of the hospital system and scheduling staff is a huge challenge. RPA automation across multiple business applications helps organize and schedule the right balance between the availability of sufficient staff for each shift without them being overburdened.</li><li>Organize Claims Processing ? Processing claims is very challenging as hospital facilities use multiple business applications to process data. RPA organizes and automates individual claims by collecting and segregating patient records, grouping them, and transferring them to the respective claims management systems, thus minimizing errors and saving time.</li></ul><h3 id="general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr-in-healthcare-technology">General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Healthcare Technology</h3>General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a data protection act to ensure businesses adhere to strict guidelines while collecting, processing, and storing personal data. Penalty for non-compliance to GDPR has increased significantly under the Data Protection Act (DPA)Healthcare providers and businesses have to cope with increasingly complex global privacy policies by constantly adapting to new privacy regulations, ensuring reliable data protection, and adapting systematic and programmatic approaches to simplify these operations.<h3 id="influence-of-mobile-technologies-in-healthcare-technology">Influence of Mobile Technologies in Healthcare Technology</h3>Mobile technologies and apps are beginning to play a significant role in the healthcare industry. The development of user-friendly mobile apps has benefited healthcare by improved patient care and also helps increase the productivity of medical professionals.Physicians can now better engage their patients using mobile computing charts and other wearable devices to help monitor patient their health and significantly reduce hospital visits and expenses.What Is Mobile Health (mHealth)?The Global Observatory for eHealth of the World Health Organization defines mHealth as ?medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices?. Mobile and wireless technologies have the potential to transform how health and healthcare services are delivered across the globe.Benefits of Mobile Devices in Healthcare:<ul><li>Continuous Data Flow ? It bridges the gap between the large volumes of data that needs to be communicated between healthcare institutions and patients every second by reducing personal interaction by the practitioners.</li><li>Real-Time Communication - With the use of smartphones, doctors and nurses can share real-time prescriptions and instructions for faster patient recovery and use mobile cameras to examine patients remotely.</li><li>Enhances Physician Efficiency ? Cell phones handle the cumbersome tasks of recording patient?s data, provide updated and accurate drug information, and automatically handles paperwork, thus allowing physicians more time to treat their patients.</li><li>Direct Patient Management ? Doctors can directly monitor patients and provide real-time consultation for faster recovery with the help of fitness apps and wearable devices.</li><li>Improved Accuracy and Efficiency ? Paper documents were hard to maintain and mistakes are hard to detect. With EMR, patient records can be accessed on smart devices and apps from any location and they are accurate and reliable. This facilitates smooth functioning among various medical caregivers, departments and patients, thereby enhancing hospital efficiency.</li><li>Better Communication ? Using apps, doctors can make prescriptions helping patients procure the right medication and adhere to medication schedule as wells as scheduling follow-up appointments and setting reminders.</li></ul><h3 id="advanced-diagnostic-technology-in-healthcare">Advanced Diagnostic Technology in Healthcare</h3>Healthcare analysts have observed that the increase in accessibility to reasonable medical treatment is evidence of how technology has changed the healthcare sector. The healthcare industry is constantly working to improve patient care and at the same time reduce medical expenses.<ul><li>Tools and Gadgets - The advancement in technology has resulted in the availability of rapid diagnostic testing kits which are easy to use and generate test results within a few minutes.</li><li>Diagnostic Testing -The test results of advanced diagnostic testing and their efficiency determine whether certain therapies should be continued or not and also ensure that the right therapy is administered at the right time.</li><li>Artificial Intelligence - The introduction of Artificial Intelligence in the healthcare industry has shown significant improvement in areas of medical assistance and boosting diagnostic and treatment methods.</li></ul>An article in Science Daily dated May 10, 2021, states that ?Researchers at KU Leuven (Belgium) have developed a 3D printing technique that extends the possibilities of lateral flow testing. These tests are widespread in the form of the classic pregnancy test and the COVID-19 self-tests. With the new printing technique, advanced diagnostic tests can be produced that are quick, cheap, and easy to use.?<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>The advancement of healthcare technologies over the years have helped the healthcare industry in various ways, right from diagnosis of unknown pathogens and rapid test interpretation to remote patient treatment.The implementation of technologies such as RPA, blockchain, and mobile technologies into the healthcare industry has resulted in streaming processes, increasing efficiency and accuracy, minimizing errors, lower healthcare cost, and has immensely improved quality of care.The future of the healthcare industry depends on how the health sector embraces the emerging new technologies and how efficiently they can implement them in the organization to attain the true potential they offer.Sources:<ol><li><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-51517-1_23">https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-51517-1_23</a></li><li><a href="https://www.softwebsolutions.com/resources/rpa-solution-for-healthcare-industry.html">https://www.softwebsolutions.com/resources/rpa-solution-for-healthcare-industry.html</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5116535/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5116535/</a></li><li><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210510113544.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210510113544.htm</a></li></ol>

Johnson Cherian

Premium reporting on technology, startups, VC funding, and software from Techfastly tagged with Healthcare. Read about trends and strategies for Healthcare.

Healthcare

Emerging Technologies Assisting the Healthcare Industry

<h3 id="what-is-iomt-internet-of-medical-things">What Is IoMT (Internet of Medical Things)?</h3>The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is an integrated infrastructure of the healthcare systems and services to medical devices and software applications that transmit real-time data through a network of technologies. The IoMT is a subcategory of the Internet of Things (IoT).IoMT brings together the patient, doctors, and caregivers by providing data and processes that enable the caregiver to deliver efficient patient support through connected medical devices, biometric monitors, and smart devices, and wearables.With the challenge to better serve patients and reducing expenses, IoMT can be the game-changer by streamlining processes and ultimately lowering costs.The healthcare industry has joined the digitalization bandwagon over the last few years and COVID-19 has necessitated faster adaption of the technology. COVID-19 brought about the need for more connected medical devices and smart monitoring. Many manufacturers of medical devices came out with smart integrated medical devices which helped the hospital systems, healthcare providers, and governments in saving lives by early detection of pathogens and providing appropriate patient care.The Potential of IoMT in HealthcareThe IoMT has benefited the healthcare industry in many ways, right from convenience to the patient receiving treatment to hospitals and medical practitioners providing patient care.An article in the <a href="https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/internet-of-things-iot-in-healthcare-market-102188">Fortune Business Insights</a> states, ?The global Internet of Things in healthcare market size was USD 71.84 in 2020. Based on our analysis, the global market exhibited a significant growth of 24.1% in 2020 compared to the average year-on-year growth during 2017-2019. The market is projected to grow from USD 89.07 billion in 2021 to USD 446.52 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 25.9% during the 2021-2028 period.?Some of the advantages brought about by the IoMT are its more accurate diagnosis &amp; prognosis, fewer errors, better patient care, and significantly reduced treatment costs.Hospital and clinics have readily embraced the IoMT as it is more cost-efficient and improves the quality of patient care. The technology allows for medical practitioners to monitor patients remotely and with any changes in medical parameters, the medical staff is alerted and can take the appropriate corrective measures.The introduction of medical devices in the healthcare industry played a significant role in the diagnosis and preventive treatment of chronic illnesses. These assistive medical devices have eased the burden of physicians, giving them more time to focus on patient treatment. The integration of IoT in devices like scanners, x-ray machines, MRI machines, etc allows early detection and treatment of potentially fatal conditions like cancer, heart conditions, and many more diseases.Security Concerns of IoMT:Like any device connected to a network, IoMT is also vulnerable to cybersecurity threats to medical devices. Patient health and information is at risk when smart devices get hacked and it can crumble the healthcare system infrastructure.Some of the security concern points are:Endpoint Security: IoMT devices are generally not designed keeping security in mind, hence medical devices are defenceless against hackers as they lack robust firewall and mostly use default passwords. Hackers gain easy access to these devices and perform unauthorized manipulations to the device software. The lack of security can lead to failure to comply with HIPAA regulations, data manipulation, and loss of Patient Health Information (PHI). MedTech companies need to develop anti-malware mechanics to protect devices from spyware and Trojan attacks.Communication Security: Mobile apps and smart telehealth devices use VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) for audio and video communication for doctor-patient interaction. They carry vital signs of the patient from smart devices to the hospital network. These data can be intercepted by hackers and be compromised.Different IoMT Attack Types:Side-channel: A side-channel attack is indirect exploitation of security by monitoring the electromagnetic activity around a medical device.Tag cloning: Duplication of gathered data for unauthorized access to confidential patient information.Tampering devices: Physically tampering with sensors to manipulate functioning by exploiting firmware vulnerabilities to install malware and then take control of the device.Sensor tracking: Attack of patient monitoring devices that have GPS sensors that send information to doctors and steal or send inaccurate data.Replay: Reuse of previously exchanged authenticating message to hack a device.Rogue access: Interception of traffic by installing forged gateway within wireless network range.Cross-Site request forgery (CSRF): Tricking end-user using vulnerable applications.Brute force: Using trial and error and guessing login info hackers gain access to IoMT devices.Applications of IoMT:Hospitals and Clinics: IoMT devices are increasingly used in hospitals and clinics for their improved healthcare quality and reducing cost and time. Some examples are X-ray machines and CT scans. Also, smart apps are used for patient monitoring and connecting patients and doctors.Home and remote areas: Telemedicine enables Remote Patient Monitoring for patients with severe illnesses and avoiding frequent doctor visits. These devices can monitor glucose levels, blood pressure, heart rates and automatically alert the doctors.On-the-Body/wearable devices: Biosensors are used in making wearable medical devices that are embedded into apparel or attached to the skin to monitor patient health parameters.Patient Information Management: <h4 id="iomt-helps-store-useful-information-like-a-patient%E2%80%99s-past-medical-history-family-history-and-personal-information-contact-details-blood-group-insurance-details-which-are-easily-accessible-to-the-healthcare-providers-at-the-time-of-treatment-the-technology-also-enables-medical-practitioners-to-monitor-real-time-patient%E2%80%99s-vital-parameters-so-the-course-of-treatment-can-be-altered-based-on-the-patient%E2%80%99s-response-to-the-line-of-treatment">IoMT helps store useful information like a patient?s past medical history, family history, and personal information (contact details blood group, insurance details), which are easily accessible to the healthcare providers at the time of treatment. The technology also enables medical practitioners to monitor real-time patient?s vital parameters so the course of treatment can be altered based on the patient?s response to the line of treatment.</h4><h4 id="inventory-management">Inventory management:</h4><h4 id="the-use-of-automation-in-inventory-management-systems-in-the-inventory-of-medical-supplies-storage-application-demand-orders-and-inspection-ensures-effective-utilization-of-resources-by-reducing-time-effort-documentation-and-money">The use of automation in inventory management systems in the inventory of medical supplies (storage, application, demand, orders and inspection) ensures effective utilization of resources by reducing time, effort, documentation, and money.</h4>It also helps monitor the stock of medical supplies, healthcare support supplies, locating hospital equipment like stretchers, wheelchair and other assets, making smooth functioning of hospital processes.<h4 id="research-and-analysis">Research and analysis</h4>With a large amount of patient information easily available on cloud servers, it makes analysis and research work easy and in a reduced period.The analysis of the available data sets is valuable as they help take preventive measures, improved treatment, and develop more effective drugs. Hospitals can make quicker informed decisions on treatment and minimize errors with the statistical report generated, thus improving thousands of lives.Future of IoMT:In the past, home visits were made by physicians to check on their patients. But today, we no longer need home visits. With the advancement in technology, and in particular, electronic and digital technology, telemedicine allows the healthcare practitioner to communicate with the patient requiring fewer hospital visits.Frost &amp; Sullivan research indicates ?growth of nearly 20-25% in-patient engagement management solutions in 2021 alone?. There is a demand for digital healthcare as patients are now accustomed to the convenience of their treatment.Platforms offering digital point-of-care testing will play a substantial role in the future as they benefit from the leverage of machine learning (MI) and artificial intelligence (AI).<h4 id="connected-devices-and-iot">Connected Devices and IoT:</h4><h4 id="smart-connected-devices-allow-real-time-patient%E2%80%99s-data-to-be-collected-processed-and-shared-with-caregivers-so-they-can-address-problems-immediately-the-demand-for-smart-devices-is-on-the-rise-as-they-play-a-significant-role-in-the-healthcare-industry">Smart connected devices allow real-time patient?s data to be collected, processed, and shared with caregivers so they can address problems immediately. The demand for smart devices is on the rise as they play a significant role in the healthcare industry.</h4><h4 id="ar-vr-collaboration">AR-VR Collaboration:</h4>Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) tools are in the product development process with several software and hardware vendors collaborating to provide the best solution for patient and clinicians.<h4 id="biosensors-and-wearables">Biosensors and Wearables</h4>Biosensors are emerging as a key technology because of their potential analytical tools used both in point-of-care diagnostics and wearable devices. They hold an advantage over traditional methods as they can predict variations in a patient?s clinical condition by analyzing the blood, sweat and other biological agents.Conclusion:With the growth of the internet and medical devices, IoMT has transformed monitoring and controlling capabilities to accomplish higher standards of patient care. Wearable devices have reduced the burden of physicians and eased patients have embraced the use of these devices.In the future, medical professionals can expect further simplification with further advancements in the IoMT, which will benefit the patients and the healthcare system.Sources:<ol><li><a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Life-Sciences-Health-Care/gx-lshc-medtech-iomt-brochure.pdf">https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Life-Sciences-Health-Care/gx-lshc-medtech-iomt-brochure.pdf</a><a href="https://www.insight.com/en_US/content-and-resources/2021/future-of-healthcare--internet-of-medical-things.html">https://www.insight.com/en_US/content-and-resources/2021/future-of-healthcare--internet-of-medical-things.html</a></li><li><a href="https://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/component/content/article/mdb/features/articles/38549">https://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com/component/content/article/mdb/features/articles/38549</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nuspire.com/blog/what-security-threats-are-targeting-iomt-devices-and-how-to-prevent-being-hacked">https://www.nuspire.com/blog/what-security-threats-are-targeting-iomt-devices-and-how-to-prevent-being-hacked</a> </li></ol>

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT): Game-Changing Technology for Healthcare Industry

Cloud computing (technology) is an infrastructure that operates on a subscription module and provides services such as servers, storage, databases, software, and allows users to access the information remotely.The 'cloud,' in simple terms, is storing and accessing data over the internet. The data is hosted remotely on data centers and is managed by a cloud service provider (CSP). This technology allows for easy access to data from anywhere in the world without having to have the software installed into a particular computer.<h3 id="cloud-technology-in-healthcare-industry">Cloud Technology in Healthcare Industry:</h3>The healthcare industry works under immense pressure to operate in real-time and provide healthcare professionals and patients with access to data across various locations. Cloud technology allows easy access and exchange of data between various departments as they are stored on a cloud platform and not on physical hardware.According to a study done by the marketing research firm <a href="https://www.ihealthcareanalyst.com/data-flexibility-security-scalability-boost-cloud-computing-health-care-industry-market/">iHealthcareAnalyst, Inc.</a>, "The global market for cloud computing in the healthcare industry is expected to cross $23.7 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 16.1% throughout the forecast period, driven by its unique advantages in data flexibility, security, and scalability."Many hospital leaders and technology leaders are adopting the idea of the cloud as an extension to their already existing infrastructure, and this has helped transform the healthcare sector with ease in functioning and reducing operational costs.With many medical devices using the cloud to wirelessly collect data for storage, computation, and share datasets, new cloud-connected devices are emerging, offering immense value to patients and healthcare providers.<h3 id="benefits-of-cloud-technology-in-healthcare">Benefits of Cloud Technology in Healthcare</h3><ul><li>Cost-effective and flexible The data is stored on cloud servers; it is more cost-effective as software is not installed on individual hardware, thus reducing operational costs and flexibility to access data across various locations and platforms.</li><li>Transparency The technology allows healthcare practitioners and patients to share health information more openly and in real-time.</li><li>Intelligent insights Empowers doctors and patients with precise data that help in proper decision-making. It also helps them predict potential risks and threats in advance.</li><li>Accurate decision-making and treatment Human errors can be reduced significantly with the help of cloud computing analytics.</li><li>Real-time access With the data accessible across multiple departments at the same time, each healthcare system can study and communicate across departments to ensure better output.</li></ul><h3 id="cloud-computing-in-medical-devices">Cloud Computing in Medical Devices:</h3>In the medical industry, the term "smart devices" is generally devices used to receive and/or transmit data over the internet, whereas "connected medical devices" can receive and/or transmit data over the internet to/from other devices. Connected medical devices use the internet to collect, store, manage, transfer, and analyze patient data sets. These medical devices can be connected wirelessly to another device by using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or radio transmission.Some of the major players in the connected medical device market are Medtronics, Omron Corporation, Johnson and Johnson, Fitbit, GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and Abbott.<h3 id="challenges-in-medical-device-industry">Challenges in Medical Device Industry:</h3>Medical devices play a vital role within the healthcare industry. they need made healthcare operations smoother and hassle-free additionally as eased patient care. However, most of the devices being cloud-based are prone to cyber threats, and managing regulatory compliance and internal control are key areas of concern.Cybersecurity Connected medical devices and instruments, although high on innovation, are vulnerable to potential cyber threats. It is a huge challenge for medical equipment manufacturers to manage and secure the enormous amounts of sensitive data that are collected and stored on the cloud infrastructure from this equipment.Complex Regulations Manufacturers of medical devices are bound by government guidelines and regulations that differ from country to country. The medical device regulations of the EU differ from that of the FDA.In the European Union, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives security to the basic identity records of personal information, biometric records, health, genetic information, etc. While, in the United States of America, <a href="https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cyber-security/health-healthcares-cyber-security/">HIPAA</a> Title II mandates standardization of electronic health records systems and addresses the privacy and security of patient health data. These differences in regulations make it difficult to maintain similar standards across the globe.Remote Connectivity Though IoMT seems to be an ideal solution, there is a dearth of skilled talent to handle the sophisticated electronics, communicating, handling, and evaluating the information gathered. Clinicians, patients, and healthcare infrastructure rely on continuous connectivity. Internet connection failures can be due to numerous reasons such as insufficient network capacity, physical barriers interrupting the wireless signals, and inadequate staff to fix problems.Product Quality Despite the technological advancements, OEMs face the challenge of ensuring the quality of the products. Poor quality products not only lead to recalls but can hurt the brand reputation and hurt the company's finances. Defective products can lead to incorrect test results, contamination, malfunctioning, or even unexpected shutdowns.<h3 id="impact-of-cloud-computing-on-healthcare">Impact of Cloud Computing on Healthcare:</h3>Cloud computing has greatly impacted the healthcare sector by increasing the industry's efficiency, reducing costs, and making medical record sharing safer and easier.Ease of Interoperability The power of cloud computing allows healthcare professionals to gain easy access to patient data collected at various sources and share the data with other stakeholders. This allows real-time access and review of cases and obtains quick opinions despite the geographical limitations.As patient's health data is stored in the cloud, it allows interoperability among several departments such as hospital administration, labs, finance, insurance, pharmaceuticals, etc. This seamless data transfer among various stakeholders accelerates healthcare delivery and increases process efficiency.Access to Powerful Analytics With the large pool of healthcare data on the cloud, performing analytics on patient data has paved the way for more personalized patient care. Artificial intelligence algorithms and the application of big data analytics are powerful for medical research.Patient's Data Ownership As patient data is available on the cloud, the patient gets control over their health and boosts their participation in making informed decisions relating to their health. The medical records and medical images of patients can be easily stored on the cloud for easy access.Patient Care Standards With the patient medical records stored on the cloud, this reduces paperwork and delay in treatment as physicians can remotely access the data and provide necessary treatment and recommendations.Freeing up essential resources With cloud computing, it is possible to allocate resources in the best possible manner, better and at a minimum cost, thus improving the resources' working efficiency. It provides better support for repetitive admin works, HR, and other operational functions.Predicts device maintenance With the help of Machine Learning technology, the medical device connected to a cloud network can predict the need for maintenance for the medical device of a hospital, clinic, or patient. This allows for organizing and scheduling periodic maintenance, thereby avoiding malfunctioning and unforeseen breakdown of medical devices.Telemedicine Since the COVID-19 pandemic, cloud computing has revolutionized the healthcare industry by virtual medicine (telemedicine). Using cloud-based software and apps, medical practitioners can provide virtual consulting and precise, personalized care to patients.Patient monitoring tools like wearables, in-home care devices, and biosensors provide continuous patient care, detect and alert distress signals, and remotely monitor vital signs and parameters. This information can be received over the cloud by the physicians, and appropriate treatment can be initiated.Conclusion:The healthcare industry is yet to realize the full potential of cloud computing. The sheer volume of healthcare needs demands more companies to focus on research and innovate new and better products that can collect, analyze, and interpret medical data. There is a vast potential for cloud computing in the healthcare industry due to the interoperability, which simplifies day-to-day hospital administration and patient care.However, cloud technologies need to work around providing cybersecurity to medical devices and work with various governments to come out with standardized compliance regulations. Channelizing the power of cloud technology in combination with evolving technologies like machine learning, robotics, big data analytics, and IoMT will help streamline healthcare delivery.Sources:<a href="https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cloud-computing-healthcare-market-347.html">https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cloud-computing-healthcare-market-347.html</a><a href="https://www.ibm.com/in-en/cloud/learn/cloud-computing#toc-cloud-secu-W8VbkqUK">https://www.ibm.com/in-en/cloud/learn/cloud-computing#toc-cloud-secu-W8VbkqUK</a><a href="https://www.omg.org/cloud/deliverables/CSCC-Impact-of-Cloud-Computing-on-Healthcare.pdf">https://www.omg.org/cloud/deliverables/CSCC-Impact-of-Cloud-Computing-on-Healthcare.pdf</a><a href="https://atltechnology.com/blog/connected-medical-devices/">https://atltechnology.com/blog/connected-medical-devices/</a>

Challenges and Impact of Cloud Technology in the Healthcare Industry

Metadata: Cloud security helps organizations secure their business data using multiple levels of control to provide protection against cybercriminals by adopting best cyber-security practices, using tools and software, and training the team to protect their business. Breaches in the cloud infrastructure can also be avoided by encryption, identity and access management system, and securing endpoints.<hr>With many more companies looking to use cloud computing to expand and modernize their business and to stay competitive, they are also exposing themselves to new risks.Cloud security is the sequence of principles, technologies, and procedures that are designed to secure the cloud computing environment against both internal and external cyber threats. In other words, cloud security is a set of security measures that are aimed to protect cloud-based infrastructure, devices, and data. These measures may include user and device authentication, controlled access of data and resources, and data privacy protection.A <a href="https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/rp-cloud-adoption-and-risk-report-work-from-home-edition.pdf">report by McAfee</a> in the early 2000 states, ?Overall enterprise use of cloud services spiked by 50% with manufacturing and financial services companies increasing the most. External attacks on cloud accounts increased 630%, with the transportation, government, and manufacturing verticals most affected.?To gain from the benefits of the cloud, the organization and the team?s skillsets need to adapt to the cloud requirements. The organization and its team should be aware that the responsibility of security is shared between the customer and the cloud service provider (CSP). While the CSP is responsible for securing the primary infrastructure of the cloud, it is the customer?s responsibility to maintain and secure anything they put into the cloud environment.Protecting business data and content, financial records, customer data, and design documents play a crucial part in cloud security. Maintaining customer trust, averting data theft and leaks, and protecting your digital assets is critical in this competitive environment.By maintaining strong cloud security measures, organizations can benefit by reducing administrative and operational costs, increased reliability, and ease of scaling.Importance of cloud security:Data breaches and loss: Cloud security can be breached in various ways such as misconfiguration, which allows cyber criminals access to confidential data stored on the cloud.Data protection regulations: Data protection compliance is a big challenge while adopting cloud platforms. The GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA regulations are complex and stringent policies must be implemented to ensure access to cloud data is secure and restricted.Visibility and control? Since the cloud is a third-party system, the IT teams do not have the ability to see into the cloud service to have full visibility over data and limited access to control security threats.Cloud-native breaches ? A <a href="https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-in/security-awareness/cloud/what-is-cloud-native-breach.html">Cloud-native breach</a> is a ?series of actions by an adversarial actor in which they ?land? their attack by exploiting errors or vulnerabilities in a cloud deployment without using malware, ?expand? their access through weakly configured or protected interfaces to locate valuable data, and ?exfiltrate? that data to their own storage location.? Here are some of the best practices to maximize cloud security:Understand and Regulate data on the cloud: The first step of securing cloud computing is to understand how the cloud functions and who gets what kind of access. This gives insight into data which is extremely important and sensitive data can be held securely and monitor its access and where it goes. User behavior analytics (UBA) can monitor for abnormalities and eliminate both internal and external data loss.Choosing a trusted Cloud Service Provider (CSP): Picking a trusted CSP who offers the highest level of built-in security protocols and conforms to the standards is of utmost priority. The CPS should meet compliance standards and regulations and take proactive measures to constantly improve their cloud security.Shared cloud security responsibility model: While selecting your cloud partner, organizations must evaluate the cloud service provider?s (CSP) shared security policies and the responsibilities they handle. A clear understanding of the shared security responsibilities of both parties helps prevent unfortunate incidents due to negligence and oversights and avoid blaming each other.Control identity and access management solution: Unauthorized access to cloud data causes potential risk and therefore organizations must establish identity and access management (IAM) solutions. Organizations must also adopt multi-factor authentication and role-based permissions to minimize data misuse and mitigate risks.Encrypt data at rest and in motion: Encryption is a crucial part of any cloud computing security strategy. Apart from encrypting the data on the cloud storage service, data in transit should also be encrypted ? when it may be most susceptible to attacks. It is recommended by experts to implement encryption products that work seamlessly with existing work processes.Training users and implementing Security Awareness Program: Educating and training users on the need for security and its advantage in their daily work is important for cloud security. Regular security awareness campaigns will benefit the implementation of your cloud security policy.Apart from the built-in security features provided by the CSP, the staff and all stakeholders who have access to the cloud should be trained on security awareness. It is often the staff who is the first line of security and they can either keep the technology secure or open its doors to vulnerable cyber-attacks. The IT security professionals need to constantly learn and keep themselves updated with the latest potential threats so they can take necessary countermeasures.Securing user endpoints: With a large part of the staff working remotely, accessing the cloud resources across various geographical locations through various devices, organizations must regularly upgrade their user endpoints regularly by updating firewalls, anti-malware, regularly fine-tune their intrusion detection systems, implement defined access control regulations, and other appropriate measures.Respond to cloud security issues: To monitor security issues, cloud services need either a guided or automated response to threats detected. When a new device is detected accessing sensitive data in the cloud service, two-factor authentication should be automatically asked for. Web access policies should be automatically updated to enforce secure web gateways and provide information on risk profiles and either show warning messages or block access.Perform audits and penetration tests: There can be many security gaps in the system, therefore it is important to identify these gaps and close them at the earliest. Leaving a security gap open can be an invitation for security threats. Hence, it is important for organizations to perform routine penetration tests and close gaps upon detection.Regular audits of your cloud security capabilities should be conducted. Ensure you audit and analyze your CSP?s efficiency and double-check to ensure they meet the security terms specified in the SLAs.Maintain a safe list: Many times employees use the organization?s cloud network for their personal use, which could pose a threat to the company. Therefore, businesses should create and maintain a safe list of services that are accessible to the employees through their cloud accounts.CASB or cloud security solution: It is also worth considering cloud access security brokers (CASBs) - software that is designed to enforce cloud security policies and is gaining popularity as organizations begin to adopt a large number of cloud services. Also, cloud-based security solutions, mainly those that rely on machine learning and artificial intelligence to scrutinize log data are being widely used. These solutions make sense to organizations when they use various cloud computing services of different CSPs.Backups as contingency plan: Finally, although cloud services have benefited organizations around the globe with their ease of operations and the level of security provided, it is important that organizations do not rely entirely on the security provided by the CSPs. While the various tools, software, authentication factors, and automated alerts can help secure the network to an extent, no network is completely secure from intruders. Hence, it is a good cloud security strategy to ensure data backups are made frequently and stored offline, so in the event of any mishap, there is data to work with.Summary:Cloud computing gives organizations access to the next level of customer service, convenience, flexibility, scalability, but it all comes with a price. Since all the digital assets are stored in a central location/cloud, it is at risk of misconfiguration and is also vulnerable to cybercriminals.It should also be noted that the CSPs can provide only basic security to the cloud infrastructure, but it depends on the customer to maintain the organizational security. Hence, it is of utmost importance that organizations train their staff and implement cloud security strategies so that their digital assets are secure and not compromised by any means.Adapting the above cloud security practices can help improve protection to your digital assets and mitigate risks associated with human errors as well as damages linked to security breaches.Finally, ensure you back up your cloud data often and have a backup plan in case your account is hacked.Sources:<a href="https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-in/security-awareness/cloud/cloud-security-best-practices.html">https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-in/security-awareness/cloud/cloud-security-best-practices.html</a><a href="https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-best-practices-to-ensure-cloud-security/">https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-best-practices-to-ensure-cloud-security/</a><a href="https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94167-best-practices-to-achieve-effective-cloud-security">https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/94167-best-practices-to-achieve-effective-cloud-security</a>

Why is Cloud Security Important? How Does Remote Work Needs an Increase to the Cloud Security System?

Metadata: Private LTE is a cellular network using dedicated core network servers to meet specific connectivity requirements of an individual organization. They are widely used in large corporations and government establishments. Private LTE allows for controlled access, user authentication, and how the network should perform.What is private LTE?Private LTE is a cellular network that is similar to that maintained by large communication providers. Dedicated core network servers are installed to meet specific connectivity requirements of individual organizations. LTE stands for ?long term evolution?, which is a standard for wireless data transmission.Private LTE networks are widely used in large corporations, industrial and automotive manufacturing facilities, hospitals, education institutes, logistics companies, smart cities, drones, transportation hubs, government facilities, military campuses, stadiums, and many such settings.According to the <a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS47318621">International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast report</a> ?Worldwide revenue attributable to the sales of private LTE/5G infrastructure will grow from $945 million in 2019 to an estimated $5.7 billion in 2024 with a 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 43.4%. This includes aggregated spending on RAN (Radio Access Network), core, and transport infrastructure.?Since private LTE is run specifically to benefit organizations, access to the network can be controlled and permitted to only authorized users. The organization has control over who has access to the network, prioritization of access, deciding how the network will perform, and the areas where there should be a network and where it should be blocked.Although there is high penetration of wireless networks and public LTE; however, they may not be suitable for many organizations that require a high level of data protection and security. In such cases, private LTE has emerged as the preferred network of choice providing networks that are fixed cost and dedicated to businesses and their IoT devices. Similar to a Wi-Fi access point, a private LTE network has micro towers and small cells that replicate large public networks.Some of the benefits of adopting private LTE are enhanced traffic flow, better information security, and save on data usage. These factors give rise to the rapidly increasing popularity of private LTE and the unique role it plays in the wireless network sector.Who needs to deploy private networks?Private wireless networks are generally preferred by organizations that have use cases that are not supported by public networks. Once they establish their use case and their requirements, the <a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/private-lte-networks.pdf">primary reasons to deploy private </a>LTE are:? Coverage issues: Suitable for organizations located in remote locations where the public networks do not exist or where the public network is not secure. Installing your own network guarantees coverage be it indoors, campus locations, or even in mines and agricultural areas.? Usage control: Organizations that need to control how the network is used, namely ? determining who is given access, how the traffic is prioritized, and how resources are utilized.? Capacity limitations: When the requirement of the enterprise/organization is not met due to capacity issues.Points to consider while comparing Private LTE with Wi-FiNow that we have a general understanding of private LTE networks, we shall compare Wi-Fi with private LTE.Mobility: While moving within a large territory, private LTE has superior network performance throughout the territory because of its handoff mechanism in cellular technology, thus eliminating call drops and disconnections. On the other hand, Wi-Fi users experience weakened network performance when the user moves from one part of the building to another since there is no mechanism to handle switching devices between access points.Infrastructure Costs: In the private network, the main cost is the installation of a single cell tower for fewer access points; whereas, a Wi-Fi network may require several extenders and repeaters and a large number of cables to cover a large area.Security: Private LTE networks offer multiple layers of security, keeping high-risk and proprietary information secure. Wi-Fi security can be compromised to some extent.Performance: Private LTE offers high and scalable performance with high quality and is effective where the needs are complex as the cellular network controls intrusion from external users or traffic and also allows the fine-tuning quality of service (QoS) rules. While Wi-Fi and public LTE do not have control over the traffic and thus create congestion in networks.How can Private LTE benefit Healthcare organizations?The private LTE network in healthcare helps serve many purposes such as uninterrupted communication among healthcare professionals, data exchange, patient monitoring services, supply logistics, data security, and more.IoT in Healthcare: To provide appropriate patient care, healthcare professionals use various devices and applications to monitor patient data from connected medical devices. LTE supports safely sending and receiving information from these IoT devices which allow professionals to analyze and respond in real-time.Connected ambulances: There are suggestions that connected ambulances and crew are crucial as they relay critical patient information collected by the use of sensors, wearables, and streaming HD videos to the hospitals. Private LTE helps establish high-performance connectivity support with on-board video and data communication enables healthcare workers to take appropriate measures en route to the hospital.Virtual consultation: Telehealth has grown significantly especially post COVID-19. Today most patient-doctor appointments are done virtually. Virtual consultation reduces the burden of both the care providers and patients by eliminating the need to travel. This allows healthcare providers to attend and provide their service to more patients.Remote medication management: One of the challenges faced by the healthcare industry is adherence to medical prescriptions. This is especially common among elderly patients who forget to take their medications. LTE can help <a href="https://paman.org.uk/home/#how-paman-works">connect patients to qualified pharmacists and carers using </a>videos to ensure the right medication and prescription are adhered to.Temporary Clinics: Temporary medical facilities can be set up at various locations as the need arises for reasons such as testing, vaccination facilities, and so forth. LTE routers can help to provide stable network connections. The IT team can monitor security and fine-tune connectivity remotely through cloud platforms.Real-time high-throughput computational processing: MRI, CT scan, and other images require high-throughput computational processing for diagnostics. A good LTE network without latency allows for real-time transfer of data and images for analysis and diagnosis.Data protection and HIPAA compliance: Healthcare facilities transact with a large volume of electronic medical records. Using edge security provided by private LTE, they can deliver compliance, control real-time threats, and secure device to cloud IoT connections to meet HIPPA regulations.Challenges in the deployment of Private LTE and solutionsAlthough private LTE has gained attention among organizations looking for seamless wireless connectivity for innovative use cases, the full potential of the technology can be achieved only by a strategic approach. There are many challenges in the successful implementation and we shall look into a few of them.Longsighted strategy: No doubt organizations benefit from the flexibility offered by private LTE networks. However, it is important to understand the long-term use cases and implement strategies that will fully support future needs. Having the right technology partner to design, develop, and support a high-quality private LTE strategy is crucial.Installation challenges: Finding the right partner to install private LTE is very important. Installation of access points requires thorough knowledge of networking, cabling, and LTE cellular technology, which is complex.Device specifications: The healthcare IT professionals should ensure the client devices including laptops and mobile devices should have CBRS (B48) capabilities to access the network.Device management: Using external device management could introduce security risks as it resides outside your private cloud. Choose the right device management solution depending on your security and compliance requirements. A private device management solution may be needed to completely manage the devices of the organization from within the controlled network and data center.Skills and resources: The advanced radio technologies such as mmWave or Massive MIMO are complicated and engineers are yet to have a thorough understanding of this technology. The core network for slicing and other technologies will be impacted due to the lack of such skills.Conclusion:Large organizations including manufacturing, logistics, institutions, and healthcare facilities gain significantly by deploying private LTE. Although adding private networks to the corporate IT network architecture is a significant decision, success depends on careful planning and implementation. It is important to engage early with experienced technology partners having proven solutions and deployment strategies across various use cases before switching to a private network.Sources:<a href="https://www.infosys.com/industries/communication-services/insights/private-lte-enterprises.html">https://www.infosys.com/industries/communication-services/insights/private-lte-enterprises.html</a><a href="https://www.idirect.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Whitepaper_PrivateLTE_07.02.20.pdf">https://www.idirect.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Whitepaper_PrivateLTE_07.02.20.pdf</a><a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/private-lte-networks.pdf">https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/private-lte-networks.pdf</a><a href="https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2021/04/how-healthcare-organizations-can-benefit-private-lte">https://healthtechmagazine.net/article/2021/04/how-healthcare-organizations-can-benefit-private-lte</a>

Private LTE and its application in Healthcare Organizations

Phishing will continue to be a persistent problem as it is versatile, cost-effective, and highly scalable thus proving to be effective for scammers to gain access to the organization?s network system.

What Makes Phishing So Pervasive? How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing?

<h3 id="what-is-phishing-how-does-phishing-work">What is phishing? How does phishing work?</h3>Phishing is a form of scam or attack that involves tricking the victim into sharing personal information or taking an action online. The intent of the attack is to obtain the user?s system credentials, financial information, or other sensitive information to be used for their benefit. These attacks can range from fairly simple to complex cyber security issues.Generally, the scammer disguises as a trusted entity from a reputed source to entice the victim to take an action using emails or other forms of communication. Phishing emails are commonly used to distribute vicious links or attachments that can perform numerous functions such as extracting account information and login credentials and even installing malware on the victim?s system or directing them to cloned websites. Phishers use text messages, emails, and phone calls to entice their victims.<a href="https://retruster.com/blog/2019-phishing-and-email-fraud-statistics.html">Phishing and Email Fraud Statistics presented by Retruster</a> is as follows:? The average financial cost of a data breach is $3.86m (IBM)? Phishing accounts for 90% of data breaches? 15% of people successfully phished will be targeted at least one more time within the year? BEC scams accounted for over $12 billion in losses (FBI)? Phishing attempts have grown 65% in the last year? Around 1.5m new phishing sites are created each month (Webroot)? 76% of businesses reported being a victim of a phishing attack in the last year? 30% of phishing messages get opened by targeted users (Verizon)<h3 id="what-are-the-most-common-types-of-phishing">What are the most common types of phishing?</h3>Email phishing ? Fraudsters use emails that are designed to imitate legitimate companies to entice individuals into providing information such as login details, financial details, bank details, and even social security numbers.Spear phishing ? This involves personalized targeting of high-profile account holders by the attacker by sending email messages to specifically targeted victims. The scammers gather or buy information about the target victim and mount their scam. This is one of the most effective forms of phishing resulting in about 90% of the attacks.Clone phishing ? This phishing method is one of the most difficult to detect. As the name sounds, scammers replicate an identical version of a recently received email and re-send it from a seemingly credible source, thus tricking the victim to take action. Although the message of the email could remain the same, links and attachments are replaced with malicious ones and upon clicking them they are directed to fake websites or infected attachments.Whaling attacks ? In plain terms, whaling is targeting the ?big fish? or senior executives of a company with the goal of extracting highly sensitive corporate data. The targets are generally high-ranking offices such as CEO, CFO and other high-level executives with access to highly sensitive data. After considerable profiling of the target, a well-timed attack is launched by the attackers to steal login credentials.An example is the <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/hacked-sydney-hedge-fund-part-of-170m-cyber-crime-spree-20201123-p56h24">attack on Sydney hedge fund Levitas Capital</a> to the tune of $8.7 million in November 2020.Pop-up / scareware phishing ? Here pop-up ads are used to trick users into installing malware on their system. They generally use scare tactics to prompt users to act fast to address an alleged cybersecurity concern. This is an effective way to gain access to the victim?s computer or steal credit card information. Some common pop-up techniques are ? fake antivirus scams, clickjacking, virus removal scams, tech support scams, in-session pop-ups.Link manipulation ? Also known as URL hiding, this is used in different ways. Malicious URL links are created mimicking legitimate websites and unsuspected victims are directed to these malicious websites on clicking on these links.Vishing ? Also known as voice phishing, phone calls are used to make attacks. Attackers use automated voice messages that seem to be from legitimate institutions such as government entities or financial institutions that are communicated to individuals enticing them to provide their credit card credentials or Social security number. Generally, scammers entice victims to share personal information to claim rewards.Smishing ? SMS phishing or smishing is similar to email phishing and vishing. Here text messages that contain malicious links are sent to victims from what seems like legitimate sources. These links can be disguised in any form such as offers, chances to win something, or even discount coupons.Social medial phishing ? Social networking sites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are used by attackers to lure victims into clicking on malicious links. Attackers create fake accounts of individuals or businesses to prey on their victims.<h3 id="why-phishing-will-continue-to-be-a-problem">Why phishing will continue to be a problem?</h3>Phishing will continue to be a persistent problem as it is versatile, cost-effective, and highly scalable thus proving to be effective for scammers to gain access to the organization?s network system. Also, since employees are easier to be tricked into handing over sensitive data scammers are deploying these techniques to achieve their goal. Scammers leverage on user behavior of individuals to gain entry into computer and then take control of their valuable information.According to the <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2019-internet-crime-report-released-021120">2019 Internet Crime Report</a> by the FBI, ?Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 467,361 complaints in 2019?an average of nearly 1,300 every day?and recorded more than $3.5 billion in losses to individual and business victims.?<h3 id="how-to-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams">How to recognize and avoid phishing scams?</h3>Typically, thousands of phishing attacks are launched every day by scammers and often they are successful. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the various techniques employed and be able to recognize them.Some signs that you need to look out for:? Beware of suspicious emails ? especially supposedly from a financial institution with subject lines like ?account suspended? or ?funds or hold?.? Beware of suspicious links in emails as they could lead you to fake websites or install malware on your system.? Beware of emails asking for password, PIN, bank account number, Social Security Number.? Avoid clicking on pop-up ads that warn that your computer is infected or to call on particular numbers.? Use spam filters to block emails from illegitimate sources.? Make sure your device is protected by trusted multi-layered security software to protect financial information and personal files.<h3 id="how-to-protect-against-phishing-attacks">How to protect against phishing attacks:</h3>? Using secure email gateways in your organization will help detect suspected emails and prevent them from reaching employees? emails as these are the first line of defense against a breach. Built-in spam filters and junk folders may not be reliable.? Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) ? This requires email users to verify their identity through other channels like a text message or security token ? thus permitting only legitimate users to access their email account and also warning the user when someone is trying to access their account.? Practice password hygiene and create strong passwords, and change passwords often.? Employees and coworkers should be trained and educated on the common phishing techniques, how to identify suspicious messages, using password hygiene, email security, and reporting any suspicious incidents.<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion</h3>Since phishing is versatile and proves effective for the scammers, it bound to see an increasing trend. Despite the various preventive measures taken, phishing is continually evolving and adapting new forms and technologies to lure victims. Organizations should use advanced tools and security awareness programs should be conducted regularly so that employees will not fall prey to the scammers and be updated on the evolving phishing techniques<blockquote>Sources:</blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://retruster.com/blog/2019-phishing-and-email-fraud-statistics.html">https://retruster.com/blog/2019-phishing-and-email-fraud-statistics.html</a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-online-scams-what-is-phishing.html">https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-online-scams-what-is-phishing.html</a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams">https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams</a></blockquote><blockquote><a href="https://www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/consumer-protection/fraud-resources/phishing-attack-prevention.html">https://www.occ.gov/topics/consumers-and-communities/consumer-protection/fraud-resources/phishing-attack-prevention.html</a></blockquote>

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