Medical devices include devices designed to be implanted into a patient. Some examples of these implantable medical devices (IMDs) include cardiac function management (CFM) devices such as implantable pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac resynchronization therapy devices (CRTs), and devices that include a combination of such capabilities. The devices can be used to treat patients or subjects using electrical or other therapy or to aid a physician or caregiver in patient diagnosis through internal monitoring of a patient's condition. The devices may include one or more electrodes in communication with one or more sense amplifiers to monitor electrical heart activity within a patient, and often include one or more sensors to monitor one or more other internal patient parameters. Other examples of IMDs include implantable diagnostic devices, implantable drug delivery systems, or implantable devices with neural stimulation capability.
IMDs can be sophisticated devices that can provide many advanced functions. External devices, such as IMD programmers, can communicate with an IMD using wireless telemetry and can be used to set device parameters. IMDs can also provide diagnostic data from one or more physiologic sensors. The programmers or other external devices can also be used to collect diagnostic data obtained by one or more physiologic sensors of the IMD.
Previously, a user of an external device that interacted with an IMD had expert knowledge of the IMD and external device. Presently, the functionality associated with personal electronic devices is ever-increasing (e.g., the ability for such electronic devices to communicate remotely), and it may be desirable to incorporate these functions into external devices that interact with IMDs. A result of this may be that users of the external device may wish to use different features of the IMD and that the users have diverse backgrounds that have qualifications to use the different device features.
Interfaces to interact with these types of devices can be difficult to follow for someone who only occasionally has to access the device. Therefore, it is desirable to simplify interactions as these devices become complicated. Also, it may be desirable to prevent unqualified users from having access to some of the device features. Therefore, it may be desirable to limit access to some device features.