You may remember Watson the supercomputer that beat two of Jeopardy’s all-time champions. Did you know that Watson went to medical school? That’s right, now your doctor has the ability to ask Watson’s help in determining the best diagnosis and treatments for cancer patients. Before, you start worrying about death panels and sky-net’s dominance over man, read on.
IBM announced the first commercial application for the future digital overlord.
“In February 2013, IBM announced that Watson’s first commercial application would be for utilization management decisions in lung cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in conjunction with health insurance company Well Point Utilization management is the evaluation of the appropriateness, medical need and efficiency of health care services procedures and facilities according to established criteria or guidelines and under the provisions of an applicable health benefits plan.”
That means, patients get more evidence based treatment. That means a doctor’s decisions regarding your healthcare now have the power of the internet behind them. Instead of Doctors prescribing evidence based treatment only 55% of the time, all patients can now have access to the latest and most advanced treatments. The only question is how long will it take to get Watson into your doctor’s hands?
What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a good thing? IBM and Well Point both agree that Watson will not make decisions for medical providers. If you had to get treatment for lung cancer would you wait for a doctor that has a Watson pad, or would you let your doctor shoot from the hip?
While this sounds like a good idea for cancer patients, one must wonder what additional industries will Watson conquer. Consider buying your insurance online or through a call center. The next time you call Geico are you actually talking to a person, or are you talking to Watson? Think about it. If Watson can understand and interpret human language, it’s only a matter of time until insurance and financial services companies employ Watson for quoting, servicing, and billing in their operations. Maybe Watson is Sky Net.