In a New Era of User Privacy

As our population continues to age and suffer from chronic diseases, the demand for healthcare tech will increase. In Health Data Management, David Weldon cited, “Data Age 2025”, a white paper by International Data Corp (IDC) which estimated that data will increase to a sum of 163 zettabytes (ZB) in the next 6 years. In the meanwhile, organizations must figure out how to manage such a massive amount of data and, most importantly, in a secure fashion. Not doing so will result in lost revenue and unsatisfactory experiences for patients and customers.

The IDC paper states, “The decade centered around the conversion of analog data to digital is being replaced by an era focused on the value of data—creating, utilizing and managing ‘life critical’ data necessary for the smooth running of daily life for consumers, governments and businesses. Consumers and businesses creating, sharing and accessing data between any device and the cloud will continue to grow well beyond previous expectations.”

Managing this growing avalanche of health data efficiently and securely will be no small feat. In the process, we predict the following trends:

1.) Increasing patient-centered digital innovations which lower cost while increasing access and affordability. We’ve already seen examples of disruption by artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud, internet of medical things (IoMT), and virtual reality. Such technology helps trained medical professionals with accuracy, quality and speed so they have more time to devote to the patient.
In 2017 and 2018, digital health ventures were bolstered by $12.5 billion dollars of investor money, according to the PwC Health Research Institute. This represents a 230 percent growth in funding and a 67 percent increase in the average funding deal, compared to the same period in 2013.

The same study found that American consumers welcome new treatment options in the form of connected devices and digital therapies. They are somewhat likely or very open try an online tool or FDA-approved app to treat a medical condition.

2.) Greater push for interoperability between connected devices, disparate systems, and pilot models that are scaled for system-wide adoption. Many times, platforms created by different vendors have data and technical incompatibilities which are ineffective for sharing information between proprietary systems in the health ecosystem. There needs to be a universally accepted standard for using and disseminating information quickly and securely.
In the Sharing Data, Saving Lives report conducted by American Hospital Association and cited by Modern Healthcare, the Tennessee Hospital Association successfully connected 88 percent of the state's hospitals. The network allowed the exchange of real-time admission, discharge, and transfer information so providers could track a patient's journey through the system. The larger goal is to expand interoperability on a national scale.

3.) Regulatory compliance and cybersecurity to protect sensitive information. The vast amount of data and interconnected IT ecosystems (discussed above) that expand with relentless speed means ever more vulnerabilities for cyber crime. Cyber-diligence and crisis management must be top priorities at any organization with valuable patient data.
In “Cybersecurity in Hospitals: A Systematic, Organizational Perspective” published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research on the National Center for Biotechnology Information website, Mohammad S Jalali, MSc, PhD and Jessica P Kaiser, MBA found that data breaches attack infrastructure and medical devices in addition to theft of money and data. Costs resulting from subsequent litigation, fines and damaged reputation can cost a single hospital up to 7 million dollars. The combined estimated consequence of a data breach can affect the healthcare industry in the range of 6 billion dollars.
Because healthcare has lagged in data security, protection involves extensive effort and capital. An effective solution is particularly difficult because “hospitals are extraordinarily complex organizations with many typical organizational characteristics dialed up or down to extremes.”

A person’s health data contains some of the most private information about that person. It is critical that organizations immediately address the vulnerabilities we already know about and anticipate those that will arise, for the sake of the patients as well as the corporations. Everyone has a stake in this, and no one is immune. We’re in it together, so let’s find the best solution.