IBM's supercomputer Watson -- the formidable Jeopardy! contestant who beat two humans by answering trivia questions at record speed -- may be able to apply the same technology in a clinical setting and arrive at a diagnosis faster than a doctor can…So will a computer ever have the potential to replace a real, living breathing human doctor? Probably not, van Terheyden said, pointing to a 2006 Mayo Clinic study where patients were asked the most important characteristics that a good doctor must possess.

MedPage Today by Emily Walker, 02/24/2012

Tags: computers replacing doctors, Health IT, IBM supercomputer, Jeopardy!, van Terheyden, Watson