Tech Optimization: Medical device and IoT operating secrets

Connected medical devices and the Internet of Things have become major areas of both promise and concern for hospitals in recent years. They generate key clinical data – and can enable timely and life-saving interventions – but they also pose serious safety and security implications when improperly configured Slowly but inevitably, the medical device landscape is changing – and in a positive direction. Historically, the ordering, recording and adjudicating of medical devices at health systems have all been hampered by the absence of comprehensive databases and standard identifiers for devices, said Patrick Lupinetti, senior vice president for legal affairs and medical device at First Databank, a vendor of, among many things, medical device databases. While such databases have been available for drugs for many decades, medical devices have not had the benefit of the same protocols and procedures,” he said. “This deficiency has not only limited materials management and documentation, but it has also denied clinicians ready access to relevant medical data – device verification, defining attributes, MRI compatibility and recall notifications – both at the point of care and for retrospective analysis.