Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.

 

3. Cybersecurity: Yet another study finds medical devices too easy to hack

Newly unveiled findings from a 2-year audit of a chain of Midwest hospitals corroborated what many in cybersecurity have long said about medical devices: they are too often woefully lacking in digital defenses.

Everything from infusion pumps to defibrillators and X-ray machines were found easy to access, attack, take offline or otherwise manipulate in ways that could harm patients or compromise sensitive data. And many hospitals have no idea. Read more

2. Boxer: Curbing medical errors will save thousands of lives, billions of dollars per year

Preventable hospital injuries claim as many as 440,000 patients’ lives each year, representing a woefully under-met area of clinical need, according to a new report released by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

Sen. Boxer called on hospitals and clinics to devise and share ways to minimize common hospital injuries, such as infections and adverse drug events, in order to prevent needless deaths. Read more

1. FBI: Medical devices unprepared for new era of cyber attacks

Medical devices and other hospital and healthcare systems need some serious security upgrades to weather the coming onslaught of malicious hacking, according to the FBI’s Cyber Division.

With an impending deadline to shift to electronic medical records, which fetch a high price on the black market, healthcare systems are an increasingly alluring target for cyber-criminals. Read more