Summary Objective: Evaluation of the technical feasibility

of tight integration of the digital pen and paper technology in an existing computerized patient record. Technology: The digital pen is a normal pen able to record all actions of the user and to analyse a micro pattern printed on the paper. The digital paper is a normal paper printed with an almost invisible micro pattern of small dots encoding information such as position and identifiers. We reported our experience in the implementation and the use of this technology in an existing large clinical information system for acquiring clinical information. Discussion: It is possible to print uniquely identified forms using the digital paper tech-nology. These forms can be pre-filled with clinical readable information about the patient. When healthcare providers complete these forms using the digital pen, it is possible to acquire the data in a structured computerized patient record. The technology is easy to inte-grate in a component-based architecture based on Web Services. Conclusion: The digital pen and paper is a cost-effective technology that can be integrated in an existing clinical information system and allows fast and easy bedside clinical information acqui-sition without the need for an expensive infra-structure based on traditional portable devices or wireless devices. Key words: digital pen and paper; bedside clinical information acquisition; computerized patient record; human-machine interface