Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.[/i][/i] When assessing a patient, medics look at snapshots of physiological data that are manually taken by doctors or nurses, and make decisions against patient history, family background and test results, as well as their own knowledge and experience. But what if this data was constantly being taken, every second of every day? And what if a system was clever enough to compare these readings to thousands of patients worldwide with a similar history and disorder, as well as all the current clinical guidelines and studies, and make clinical suggestions to doctors? In 2016, this kind of data-led decision-making will come ever closer.

This article was taken from The WIRED World in 2016 -- our fourth annual trends report, a standalone magazine in which our network of expert writers and influencers predicts what's coming next. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online. When assessing a patient, medics look at snapshots of physiological data that are manually taken by doctors or nurses, and make decisions against patient history, family background and test results, as well as their own knowledge and experience. But what if this data was constantly being taken, every second of every day? And what if a system was clever enough to compare these readings to thousands of patients worldwide with a similar history and disorder, as well as all the current clinical guidelines and studies, and make clinical suggestions to doctors?