We recently reported that IBM’s Watson supercomputer — best known for its appearances on Jeopardy! — is partnering with CVS pharmacies in order to provide better patient care. But just what specifically can a computer like Watson offer regular patients?

IBM’s Watson cleaned up during its appearances on Jeopardy! a few years ago, where he bested legendary contestants like Ken Jennings due to its extensive access to data — including all of Wikipedia — and ability to comb through that data to get the best answer for a trivia question, although it wasn’t perfect at figuring out the answers all of the time.

Still, its ability to sift through data is what makes it so valuably. Watson is commercially available today through the cloud as an analyst of large data volumes, allowing clients to better construct programs, according to a Newsfactor report.

The Watson platform can even learn new concepts through experience — cognitive abilities that could allow it to help healthcare practitioners handle health records and medical claims. CVS can take advantage of IBM’s Watson to create a more complete picture of the health profile of an individual patient.

Right now, the focus is on helping patients who have chronic diseases. But if this is successful, researchers envision expanding it far beyond that to regular patients.

The program will have three core goals: 1) to help identify patients who have a greater risk for bad health; 2) to help patients adopt a healthier lifestyle; and 3) to recommend the best primary care or outpatient provider for that particular patient.

Once Watson has identified an at-risk individual, it can then create a customized program that would allow patients to take proactive steps to prevent problems from severely afflicting their lives.

The IBM and CVS partnership could potentially benefit a wide range of people in the healthcare profession, according to the report.