The growing presence of connectivity from mobile health devices other than desktops is raising questions about security.
The term is bandied about frequently, but the Internet of Things — the term for the connectivity of mobile devices to one another and to the Internet—is a growing presence in healthcare. More and more patients use smartphones and wearables to collect data, and in 2009, the number of "things" connected to the Internet surpassed the number of people, according to the Federal Trade Commission's 2015 Internet of Things report.
The amount of data being uploaded to the cloud every day is immense, but some of the most crucial data may be small data — sets that include very specific attributes. Small data is useful to determine current conditions or could result from generating larger data sets, according to Forbes.
However, the increased availability of data from Internet of Things devices also drives the need for security, according to the FTC. Although the FTC warns developers of connected devices to build in security measures and limit the amount of data they collect and how long they store it, healthcare organizations must protect themselves in case of a security breach regarding connected devices.
"Unauthorized access to data collected by fitness and other devices that track consumers' location over time could endanger consumers' physical safety," the FTC report read.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has created a public database of medical devices to more quickly spread information — if a device is not secure and leaks information, it should be reported to the FDA, and that information will be communicated to everyone who uses that device. Before healthcare organizations implement connected devices, it is also worth considering who produces the device and what data is collected through it, according to the FDA.