A developer of mobile healthcare software is integrating artificial intelligence into its technology to give physicians faster access to key data and research via medical apps.

At Point of Care LLC, a Livingston, NJ, developer of mobile health apps and platforms that lets doctors access deeper health data and research quickly before and after treating a patient, integrated IBM Watson into its mobile technology, founder and chief medical information officer Sandeep Pulim told attendees at Forrester Research Inc.’s Digital Transformation Forum in Chicago in May.

Artificial intelligence—the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn like humans—is new to healthcare and even newer to mobile healthcare.

The integration of artificial intelligence into multiple health apps allows doctors to access more data in less time and give doctors the ability to make quicker and more thorough treatment decisions, Pulim says.

For example, At Point of Care has two dozen web platforms and apps to aid healthcare providers but those apps are segmented by health condition, such as for asthma, diabetes, skin cancer and cystic fibrosis.

The integration of IBM Watson into each health information platform and app speeds up how much universal data can now be accessed by doctors. In an app aided by artificial intelligence capability a doctor can make a verbal or text query within the app, which then scans At Point of Cares content database to answer questions—and the source they came from—in about 4 seconds.

Apps enhanced with IBM Watson or other types of artificial intelligence don’t make clinical decisions or prescribe medications but rather answer questions from doctors faster and more thoroughly at the time a patient is being treated.

It can take a provider 30 minutes or more to research and find a study, whereas these apps aided by artificial intelligence points to what he needs in seconds, Pulim says.

Today about 200,000 clinicians—including about 100,000 physicians—have used At Point of Care mobile technology and apps since the company launched in 2013. Clinicians such as providers treating diabetes spend an average of about 5 minutes and 44 seconds using At Point of Care’s mobile information tools and apps, the company says.

At Point of Care continuously updates its database with new healthcare research, which can be as many as 200,000 documents annually.

Mobile health apps enhanced with IBM Watson search are more detailed than a typical Google search, because the results the app provides drill down to the specific question the user is asking, as it will not only link to the study, but highlight the paragraph containing the answer, he says.

Watson also uses natural language processing, which means that healthcare providers can type in the exact question they want to ask as opposed to typing in keywords. For example, a doctor could ask, “How do I manage the symptom for this?” which is different from, “What are my options for a patient with these systems?”

Each version of the app for a specific condition is programmed with at least 1,500 questions, the company says. Because the algorithm learns over time, healthcare providers can rate if the information they found was relevant. “The app will learn the kinds of information it should surface for the type of question asked,” Pulim says.

Healthcare providers can also ask a “follow on” question, in which Watson remembers the previous question and adds in previous results for deeper context.

At Point of Care developed its mobile along with IBM four years ago but is only now after years of research and development the company is getting set to bring a commercial version of its mobile health technology enhanced with Watson to the digital healthcare market. It is in the process of raising a round of funding to hire a sales staff to sell the commercial version that it has ready to healthcare systems. Today the free version of the app is used by individual doctors, although at Point of Care declined to name any.

A key aspect of a clinical app—especially one enhanced with artificial intelligence—is helping doctors keep current with the latest medical research and meet continuing medical education credits required for maintaining a medical license.

“We’re giving them (physicians) more information to better come to their own conclusions,” Pulim told Forrester attendees.