“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,” says Sam Nussbaum, WellPoint's chief medical officer.

But Watson won't keep doctors from having a job—he'll simply assist doctors in the decision-making process, the companies say. Watson may, for example, help physicians identify treatment options that balance the interactions of various drugs and narrow among a large group of treatment choices, enabling physicians to quickly select the more effective treatment plans for their patients.

He is also expected to streamline communication between a patient's physician and their health plan, helping to improve efficiency in clinical review of complex cases. Watson can even be used to direct patients to the physician in their area with the best success in treating a particular illness.

“With medical information doubling every five years and health care costs increasing, Watson has tremendous potential for applications that improve the efficiency of care and reduce wait times for diagnosis and treatment by enabling clinicians with access to the best clinical data the moment they need it,” says Manoj Saxena, general manager, Watson Solutions, IBM Software Group.

Watson will begin work early next year. The companies did not disclose his salary.