Most physicians agree healthcare technology innovations have improved their quality of life, but many also cite room for improvement in cybersecurity standards, a new survey found.
An online, nationwide survey — conducted by Brunswick Insight and reported by Abbott and The Chertoff Group — asked 200 patients with implanted medical devices and 350 physicians about their opinions on the benefits and risks of healthcare technology.
Here are 5 survey insights.
1. Of the respondents, 81 percent of patients and 66 percent of physicians said innovation in the healthcare sector has "improved the quality of [their lives]."
2. A majority of respondents (68 percent physicians and 74 percent patients) agree the benefits of connected medical devices outweigh the risks.
3. Support for industrywide shared medical device cybersecurity risk management standards is high amongst both patient respondents (84 percent) and physician respondents (87 percent).
4. Seventy-one percent of patient respondents said they were "more optimistic for the future" because of technological advancements in on-demand access to health data, real-time monitoring, agile treatment changes and cost savings.
5. The survey concluded with recommended cybersecurity standards for the medical device industry, such as encryption, authentication and patch management.
"Now is the time for the healthcare industry to come together as never before to implement trusted cybersecurity measures that will give physicians and patients the tools they need to make informed decisions about health management, and ultimately help maintain the trust and security that make these technology transformations successful," reads the survey.
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