TOWARD THE PAPERLESS HOSPITAL

This report describes an ethnographic study of document use by anaesth etists. In doing so, it focuses on the role of the preoperative risk a ssessment form as used in anaesthetic practice at a cardiothoracic hos pital, and considers what would be the advantages and disadvantages of shining the paper into the electronic form. Evidence from this case s tudy is used to comment on how the practical use of documents by medic al professionals can be fundamentally at odds with how the organizatio n at large would like to use them. We argue that: hospital trusts need to take into account this practical perspective in order to build eff ective, on-line document systems.