It is possible to turn dead tree (paper) information into electronic digital information. There are four ways to create digital information.
Enter it
Capture it
Scan it
Import it
Enter it: What this refers to is the process of directly typing or clicking in information.
Capture it: Digital capture refers to a process that creates or captures information (usually images) into an electronic format. In dentistry the best examples would be digital photographs and digital radiographs.
Scan it: A scanner is a hardware device that converts hard copy papers into soft copy digital information.
Import it: Data import does not create new digital information. It is a function that allows users to add already existing digital information to a patient record. The difference between scanning and importing is that scanning starts with a piece of paper. Importing never goes through a paper phase.