Split key architecture for facilitating authentication between an implanted medical device and an external device

A method of facilitating authentication between an external device (ED) and an implantable medical device (IMD) of a patient, the method comprising:

• generating a device authentication parameter having a key strength;
• decomposing the device authentication parameter into a first key component and a second key component;
• providing the first key component to a cloud storage system;
• embedding the second key component into a therapy application executable on the external device;
• distributing the therapy application having the second key component to the external device;
• launching the therapy application and obtaining the second key component;
• and
• responsive to obtaining the first key component from the cloud storage system, generating a reconstituted device authentication parameter from the first and second key components to be presented to the IMD for authentication therewith, wherein the first key component is obtained from the cloud storage system responsive to an authenticated application programming interface (API) call over a Transport Layer Security (TLS) session.