Cybercrime and Medicine

Health care has its hands full with the problems we're dealing with now. There's so much that needs attention - cost of care, inequalities in care, systems improvement, personalized medicine. We could spend decades tackling those issues we've already identified. But I also worry about those problems that aren't relevant now, but will soon be game-changing. One of these is cybercrime in health care. The sophistication of cybercrime - hacking databases with personal information, identity theft, fraud, and even terrorism - has become increasingly terrifying. While this is mostly focused on governments, financial institutions, and large corporations, I think it is only a matter of time before health care becomes a target. As hospitals all incorporate electronic medical records, patient information is being stored increasingly in the cloud. Luckily, HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that frustrates so many of us, has limited the sharing and enforced the encryption of this data. But eventually, if we don't turn our attention to the security of our patient's (and physician's) information, an attack or leak will happen. Furthermore, as more devices go online and into the cloud, the danger of malicious attacks on these medical devices increases. Being able to reprogram drug pumps wirelessly seems like such a wonderful convenience, but if that ability is hacked, it can be devastating. Nurses and doctors access controlled medications through specialized dispensing systems, and controlled medications are delivered by autonomous robots; what if the hospital lost control of these systems? Even major devices like robotic surgical equipment are double edged swords. If a surgical robot can be controlled wirelessly, a surgeon can operate on a patient in a remote location or a warzone, and we can expand our delivery of care. But it also means it's vulnerable to those with malicious intent. I really hope that this doesn't become a reality, but I also believe addressing it preemptively is the best way to ensure that.