Security for Mobile Health Care Systems

Abstract

The ageing population and the increase in chronic diseases have placed a considerable financial burden on health care services. Mobile health care systems can play an important role in reducing the costs. The pervasiveness of smart phones and the evolution of Internetof- Things are increasing the potential for mobile health care systems to remotely manage the health of a patient or the elderly. Smart phones and small devices, such as body sensors, are used to remotely monitor patients suffering from chronic diseases and allow them to have relatively independent lives. A mobile health care system may require a degree of real-time monitoring or data collection. For instance, a medical emergency will require data sent to medical staff as quickly as possible, rather than the data sent after a few hours or days. The problem will be more complex if there is a requirement that commands sent to body sensors need to be in real-time. If the system recognises a possible medical emergency, it may need to notify other devices immediately to start recording data or to actuate (for example, an insulin pump and a defibrillator).