Watson: The Next Advancement in Healthcare

   Medicine is one of the fastest changing professions in today’s society. Being a part of the medical profession requires the ability to adapt as well as the ability to constantly learn. Every day, biomedical engineering firms are creating new designs and testing new products in order to better the quality of health care. What was once a profession based solely on a physician’s mind and ability, is now one which has become heavily reliant upon technology – pieces of equipment that help the doctor do his/her job.

   Earlier this month, WellPoint Inc. announced the hiring of IBM’s supercomputer, Watson. According to reports, Watson will be able to sift through patient data, as well as medical literature, and output a “probable diagnosis and treatment options.” If WellPoint is successful in developing applications based on the Watson technology, the potential impact could possibly far exceed that of any other recent medical development.

Watson, IBM's supercomputer, will pair with
WellPoint Inc. in developing a state-of-the-art
healthcare application.

   Rural areas have the most to gain from the success of this Watson technology. As it stands, there is a severe shortage of physicians in rural areas. Being short staffed not only affects the workload of the doctors’ practices, but it also affects the care that a patient will receive. Even though rural physicians are often committed to each of their patients on a personal level, this inevitably leads to a degree of emotional attachment, potentially causing effects in one’s medical judgment. Watson technology could help fix both of these issues. Not only would doctors get help by having an application suggest probable diagnoses, it would also help physicians think more objectively about a particular case.

   While many are worried that these doctor-assistant applications will take away jobs from hard-working citizens, there is no substitute for personal contact. It is important that health care professionals see this as a tool and not as a diagnostician. Another issue is availability. As nextgov.com mentioned, WellPoint will be able to spread the potentially successful technology among 14 states, including California and New York. Although this is a good start, it is the rural, highly populated areas of the Midwest who have the most to gain from this technology. Currently, the focus is on improving health care instead of improving the sectors that already lack quality health care.
   While it is true that Watson technology will potentially improve diagnosis and treatment across the nation, it also has the ability to change the culture of rural medicine. It is important to realize that most members that live in rural communities are at a severe health care disadvantage. The physician-to-patient ratio is particularly low. Furthermore, most physicians in rural areas are family practitioners and many of their patients are not able to afford multiple visits to specialists on a regular basis. This is where Watson can make a difference. And, hopefully, its potential will become a reality within the next few years.