Southern District Health Board members are to be issued with iPads to view meeting reports, instead of receiving paper copies.
The move was expected to save about $20,000 a year in printing costs.
Finance director Peter Beirne said in an email the iPads were being bought at ''below market rates'', but he did not say how much they cost.
Chairman Joe Butterfield said members of the public and the media could obtain the reports digitally.
Asked about people who did not have access to the internet, he said: ''That's their problem. I'm sorry, all we have to do is provide it on the net.''
The system would start next month.
