Gottlieb takes on cybersecurity

It’d be a tragic day if one’s pacemaker were hacked for untoward purposes. Looks like the FDA takes that seriously: Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s Sunday “tweetorial” this week centered on cybersecurity, and the agency’s efforts to tamp down on biohackers.

The FDA this month unveiled a playbook on device security — outlining how health care organizations might ward off a security breach. It includes suggestions such as hospitals keeping a medical device inventory, and conducting staff training on how to manage hacks.

The agency is in talks with Homeland Security over setting up a framework for more responsible information coordination and sharing — and has budgeted in a new “Center of Excellence for Digital Health” in its FY2019 plan.