aka a Hippocratic Oath for the 21st century. Read more here.
The latest medical advances lay at the intersection of patient care and connected technology. Integration of new technology enables innovations that improve patient outcomes, reduce cost of care delivery, and advance medical research. New technology also introduces new classes of accidents and adversaries that must be anticipated and addressed proactively. Remote malicious attackers, software flaws, and privacy concerns are the potential inadvertent side effects of transplanting connected technology into care delivery. The once distinct worlds of patient safety and cyber security have collided.
The Hippocratic Oath is a symbolic attestation by physicians to provide care in the best interest of patients. Medical devices are key instruments of delivering this care. It stands to reason that the design, development, production, deployment, use, and maintenance of medical devices should also follow this symbolic spirit. Our Hippocratic Oath for Connected Medical Devices describes commitments to capabilities that preserve patient safety, as well as trust in the process of care delivery itself.
On January 19th, 2016 I Am The Cavalry published an open letter to the Healthcare Stakeholder Communities. This letter urges stakeholders to:
- Acknowledge that patient safety issues can be caused by cybersecurity issues;
- Embrace security researchers as willing allies to preserve safety and trust;
- Attest to these five foundational capabilities to improve visibility of their Cyber Safety programs;
- Collaborate now to avert negative consequences in the future.