UK: Largest Employer to Go Paperless

NHS, ranked the fifth largest employer in the world with 1.7 million workers, is planning to go paperless by 2018.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the proposal in a recent speech. According to his scheme, NHS will allow people to change their health records online by 2015, while “crucial health information should be available to staff at the touch of a button by April, 2018”.

Jeremy Hunt says the evolution of the information technology will give staff more time with patients. PwC, meanwhile, suggests the project could save the department around £4.4bn (7 billion dollars).

Addressing the proposal, Labour says the public will struggle to understand why the government is making IT a priority at a time when NHS spending has been cut.

For printer consumables industry, the project is not good news. As UK’s largest employer goes paperless, many other organizations will likely follow, which would lead to fewer opportunities for aftermarket players. OEMs, meanwhile, will continue to adjust to offer wireless document management in the future.