Electronic forms: a next step in hospital automation

Information consists of two parts, facts and communication. It is not enough for one person to know a fact; the fact must be communicated for it to be of any value to anyone else. Forms were invented to do just that--communicate facts in a systematic manner from one party to the next. Automating forms with computers on a local area network or a wide area network allows for hospital personnel to input a patient's information once and electronically share the information from one department to another, simultaneously. Switching from a paper-based forms system to a fully automated workflow forms system or combining the two can save a healthcare institution money, errors, time and even lives. The levels of an automated forms system include: electronic forms design, demand printing, typewriter replacement, intelligent forms, intelligent mail and true workflow automation.