To gain some idea of the health care procedures which may prevail in 2012 A.D., let us see what happens when Mr. Jones reports for his annual health checkup at the Middletown Clinic. As he enters he is ushered into an examination booth, inserting his coded social security card into an appropriate slot for identification of the examination record. A series of standardized questions concerning his physical condition are then flashed on a screen in front of him and he records his answers by means of yes‐no push buttons. Weight, temperature, respiration rate, electrocardiogram, reflexes, and other data are registered directly. Blood, breath, and urine specimens are inserted into analytical machines, which add corpuscle counts and chemical data to the record. While Mr. Jones goes on his way, the examination record is transmitted in coded form to the regional electronic health record storage center, where it comes to form part of Mr. Jones’ permanent health record. The examination record, supplemented by a record of the changes in the physical measurements since the last examination, is now forwarded to the central diagnostic computer, which processes the data submitted to it on the basis of the accumulated medical knowledge and returns to Mr. Jones’ personal physician a report listing possible illnesses, if any, which may be indicated by the results of the examination, and further tests which may be needed to distinguish between them. Depending on the contents of the report, the physician may notify Mr. Jones that his physical condition is entirely satisfactory; as an alternative, he may make an appointment for further tests at the clinic, or request an immediate personal interview. If further tests are performed, the completed examination record will again be submitted to the health record storage center and to the central diagnostic computer, and a more specific report covering Mr. Jones’ ailments and suitable therapy for them will be transmitted to the physician to aid him in outlining a plan of health care which will correct present deficiencies and prevent further deterioration. Publisher Item Identifier S 0018-9219(00)04570-9. Freed of much of the routine effort of physical examinations as well as of the necessity of keeping abreast of new developments in the diagnosis and therapy of physical disease, Mr. Jones’ physician, as a general practitioner, is increasingly concerned with his patient’s emotional well-being and social adjustment; in other words, he is assuming to a greater degree the role of the family physician, a role which had almost vanished before the advent of the central diagnostic computer. If medical therapy is indicated, with the concurrence of the physician, the computer will write the prescription for Mr. Jones, taking into account such factors as his weight, age, physical deficiencies, drug idiosyncrasies, familial characteristics, and other factors. The prescription may be presented by the computer and handed to Mr. Jones, together with a bill for services, or if he wishes, he will insert his personal credit card into the machine and instructions will be sent to a centralized, automated pharmacy which will compound the prescription under sterile conditions, or the preparation itself may be electrically sterilized by ultrasonic or penetrating radiation.