For most of medicine the future is highly uncertain

Edwina Clark, a 42 year old woman with diabetes, no longer needs to test her blood sugar concentrations every day because she now has a glucose sensor implanted under the skin of her thigh. Her toilet at home provides a double check because it can analyse glucose, protein, and bacteria concentrations in her urine. Instead of giving herself daily injections of insulin, she now relies on an implanted insulin reservoir that automatically adjusts her insulin dose. Her blood sugar concentrations are so well controlled that she is unlikely ever to develop any of the vascular and neurological complications that used to be common.

The futuristic technology Edwina is using is almost here. Exciting advances and new technologies are appearing every day. We already have computer systems that make diagnoses, and telemedicine is beginning to …