More national governments call for paperless systems

National governments are always looking for the best way to serve their constituents, and one method that some countries are adopting to improve their service is the use of paperless document management systems. Recently, both Italy and Zambia have laid out plans for their governments to go digital.

Zambia's parliament is just one government that is calling for paperless systems to be accepted during official proceedings. According to the Zambia Daily Mail, parliament member Ronnie Shikapwasha recently called for Zambia to embrace new technologies and begin eliminating paper. Zambia is considering a number of reforms, but Shikapwasha said he believes that a paperless information management system would help parliament members work to their full potential and contribute effectively during discussions.

"Allow us to use our phones and laptops in Parliament because we are in a technological and information age," the source reported Shikapwasha said during proceedings. "We need to be a paperless Parliament. We cannot continue to hide our phones and laptops. In this parliament, there's paper everywhere."

Shikapwasha also told parliament members that using paper made their offices seem small, stuffy and overcrowded. The Zambia Daily Mail stated that Shikapwasha gave Rwanda as an example of a government that has made use of paperless systems to streamline their operations, cleaning up their location and giving them the means to better help their citizens.

Italy is another country that recently unveiled plans to take the government paperless. According to ZDNet, Italy is a country burdened by paperwork, but the government recently announced plans to digitize all medical and identification records. Electronic health records will be implemented by the end of 2013, and digital prescriptions will follow shortly after. 

Italy may also begin registering other information, such as births and deaths and payments to public administrations, through a simplified online system. 

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