Cybersecurity innovation: leading companies in patient identification and access

The medical devices industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by increased need for homecare, preventative treatments, early diagnosis, reducing patient recovery times and improving outcomes, as well as a growing importance of technologies such as machine learning, augmented reality, 5G and digitalisation. In the last three years alone, there have been over 450,000 patents filed and granted in the medical devices industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Cybersecurity in Medical Devices: Patient identification and access. 

According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 550,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the medical devices industry, there are 150+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.  

Patient identification is a critical process in the healthcare sector that involves effectively associating a patient with any procedure planned for them and accurately updating or communicating information throughout the treatment process. Patient identification is concerned not only with the physical identification of the patient but also with technology that can improve the accuracy of patient identification. 

GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies.  According to GlobalData, there are 60 companies, spanning technology vendors, established medical devices companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of patient identification and access. 

‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators. 

‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’. 

Baxter International is one of the leading patent filers in the field of patient identification and access. Some other key patent filers in the field include Becton Dickinson, Fresenius, and Medtronic. 

In terms of application diversity, Baxter International leads the pack, followed by Johnson & Johnson and Masimo. By means of geographic reach, Abiomed held the top position, followed by AstraZeneca and Milestone Scientific in the second and third spots, respectively. 

Among the most important patient identification tactics utilised worldwide for patient identification unique patient IDs, algorithmic approaches, referential matching software, biometrics analysis tools, radio frequency identification device (RFID) systems, and hybrid models are widely used. Further research is being carried out to investigate the possibility of improving patient identification techniques and approaches by improving algorithmic matches via data standardisation and matching software.  

Some practices, such as the use of patients' photos at registration, naming conventions, and standardised processes for recording patients' demographic data attributes, should become a mandate for healthcare organisations in order to improve the current patient identification methods and strategies used around the world and address the challenges associated with reliable patient identification. 

To further understand how cybersecurity is disrupting the medical devices industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Cybersecurity in Medical Devices.