WellPoint, Inc., and IBM have agreed to create the first commercial applications of the IBM Watson technology. WellPoint will develop and launch Watson-based solutions to help improve patient care through the delivery of up-to-date, evidence-based health care for millions of Americans. IBM will develop the base Watson healthcare technology on which WellPoint's solution will run.

Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is a computing system built by a team of IBM scientists who set out to accomplish a grand challenge–build a computing system that rivals a human's ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy, and confidence. Earlier this year, Watson competed and won against two of the most celebrated players ever to appear on "Jeopardy!".

Watson's ability to analyze the meaning and context of human language, and quickly process vast amounts of information to suggest options targeted to a patient's circumstances, can assist decision-makers, such as physicians and nurses, in identifying the most likely diagnosis and treatment options for their patients.

Medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, chronic heart, or kidney disease are incredibly intricate. New solutions incorporating Watson are being developed to have the ability to look at massive amounts of medical literature, population health data, and even a patient's health record, in compliance with applicable privacy and security laws, to answer profoundly complex questions. For example, the new applications will allow physicians to use Watson to consult patient medical histories, recent test results, recommended treatment protocols, and the latest research findings loaded into Watson to discuss the best and most effective courses of treatment with their patients.

"There are breathtaking advances in medical science and clinical knowledge; however, this clinical information is not always used in the care of patients. Imagine having the ability to take in all the information around a patient's medical care: symptoms, findings, patient interviews, and diagnostic studies. Then, imagine using Watson analytic capabilities to consider all of the prior cases, the state-of-the-art clinical knowledge in the medical literature and clinical best practices to help a physician advance a diagnosis and guide a course of treatment," said Sam Nussbaum, M.D., WellPoint's chief medical officer, in a press release. "We believe this will be an invaluable resource for our partnering physicians and will dramatically enhance the quality and effectiveness of medical care they deliver to our members."

Depending on the progress of the development efforts, WellPoint anticipates employing Watson technology in early 2012, working with select physician groups in clinical pilots.  

For more information, please visit ibmwatson.com.