The NHS spends £240million a year storing records in boxes and filing cabinets as hundreds of sites remain entirely reliant on paper.
Only five NHS trusts in England have fully digitised patient records, despite Government pledges to make the NHS paperless, the King's Fund found.
There are still 209 NHS sites – such as diagnostic centres or clinics – that use only paper records, according to the think-tank's analysis of medical records data.
Most NHS hospitals use a combination of digital and paper records to keep hold of information including appointment notes, letters and scan results.
But the vast majority do not have enough space on site to store paper files, meaning they have to rent storage units or buildings at taxpayers' expense.
