I agree with Ginny. One of the things we are trying to do in Multnomah
County is establish basic criteria for what constitutes an electronic
records keeping system, imbed that criteria into certain core processes,
then utilize that criteria to determine the capabilities of existing and
newly acquired systems. My sense is there are existing electronic
systems in use which can serve as records keeping systems with the
proper training and policy framework. In other words, the barrier is not
necessarily technical or economic.

Its interesting that the article Bill noted is focused on the court and
criminal justice system. In my opinion, this is the system that is the
most paper bound, offers the greatest potential benefits in electronic
records keeping, yet also offers the greatest barriers. County recording
and elections offices have already gone to a large extent to electronic
records keeping. I think the public health sector will be the next area
to go this route, due to HIPAA standardization and the development of
electronic systems tied to those requirements. That imposition of
standards is overcoming a lot of compatibility and organizational "silo"
issues - issues which continue to hamper advancements in the criminal
justice area.

And, of course, Bill is absolutely correct in pointing to the budgetary
constraints. We are actually viewing this as something of an opportunity
- establish the standards and policies first to lay the groundwork for
when funding may become more available. We have departments which want
to go "paperless" yesterday with no clue as to what that entails. The
current budget constraints are the only thing preventing them from
making a lot of bad choices (which they have made in the past). The key
to what we are trying to do is to ensure that when choices are made to
implement electronic records keeping, those choices are made
intelligently, in a manner that protects the public record.

For those interested, you can find out how we are approaching electronic
records, including the final report of the county's Electronic Records
Keeping Committee, on our web site at:

http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/FREDS/records/iso_dis/erkc.shtml

Dwight Wallis, CRM
Records & Distribution Services Manager
Multnomah County Fleet, Records, Electronic & Distribution Services
1620 SE 190th Avenue
Portland OR 97233
phone: (503)988-3741
fax: (503)988-3754
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