Digital data can more easily survive hurricanes

N.Y. Times: "Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the chaos wreaked by Katrina 'powerfully demonstrated the need for electronic health records.'"  It shouldn't take a disaster for people to realize that the cost of dealing with paper is too high; making key information digital should be a priority of most businesses.  Sadly, most will wait for a disaster to prioritize.

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Digital information databases are surely ways to access pertinent information about patient’s records and history, as well as limit the use of paper, control waste products, and conserve our forests. Many establishments, especially those dealing with massive volumes of data and paperwork everyday should look into the possibility of having them all filed in a digital database to be able to decrease paper consumption and storage. It would also be easy to provide copies to every department, done with a click of a mouse. Unfortunately, these databases also have their setbacks, like if someone gained access to these data and played havoc with it. Can we truly rely on the security of these databases? The mere encoding of all these data into the computer will probably take years or thousands of people working on it, to check and recheck its accuracy, and not to mention the expense of it all.