While it is becoming increasingly popular for forensic laboratories to develop and implement paperless workflows, there remains a large void between the theoretical concept of a "paperless laboratory" and its actualization. There is currently no mechanism whereby laboratories may benefit from each other's successes and missteps in the planning or implementation phases of a workflow. In an effort to understand the variety of opinions within the forensic community with regards to paperless operations, and to see where viewpoints may converge on some of these issues, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS), in conjunction with the National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC), hosted a paperless focus group in early 2012. Approximately 20 participants were selected from forensic laboratory agencies within North America, and all were known to have solid paperless practices within their laboratory sections. Topics discussed during the one-and-a-half-day session included defining the term paperless, accreditation aspects, efficiencyjautomation, implementation strategies, staffing/training considerations, and document security. This article rejects the discussions and considerations by the participants within the focus group.
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