Confidentiality is a cornerstone of the health care industry. Inspired by ethical tradition, HIPAA guidelines mandate that patient information be stored and communicated securely. That critical requirement has far-reaching technology implications. Tools such as email, widely used in most industries, lack essential compliance and security and must be shelved in favor of other forms of communication, such as secure fax communications. Although paper-based fax continues to be in use, many health care organizations are waking up to the advantages of paperless faxing, a digital technology that promises to play an important role now and in the future.
According to a recent QuickPulse survey by IDG Research, fax is the most common method of communicating patient information with 50% of all medical communications is done via some form of fax: 44% is paper-based, while 56% is handled by paperless, electronic fax technology.
Fax is at a crossroads
Among the many disadvantages of paper-based fax are clinical inefficiencies and labor-intensive processes, limited access to patient information at the point of care and slow care coordination between providers, which erode efficiency, increase costs, and put patient care in jeopardy. Even though these drawbacks are widely recognized, nearly half of patient information is still transmitted by paper-based fax. According to the QuickPulse survey, over two-thirds of respondents think paper-based faxing should be phased out. However, only 4% say that all faxing should be eliminated. Since faxing is so prevalent in healthcare and paper-based faxing should be eliminated, that leaves a significant role to be played by paperless fax, which executes the secure exchange of patient information using fax protocols, but digitally and without the unwieldiness of paper.
Paperless fax is getting good reviews. According to the survey, the majority of respondents are happy with their paperless fax solution. In addition to eliminating paper, paperless fax technology is the first step toward digital exchange of personal health information (PHI) based on emerging standards. And because digital fax integrates with electronic medical record (EMR) systems, document management systems, desktop applications and MFP fleets, it eliminates the inefficiencies of paper fax, shortens the time it takes to get patient information to the right provider or system and provides faster access to critical information at the point of care.
A significant majority of survey respondents value the integration capabilities of digital fax. Seventy-six percent of respondents either agree or strongly agree with the statement that they are happy with their current paperless faxing methods because it’s integrated with their EMR, back-end system or other applications.
By integrating digital faxing with EMRs, document management systems, clinical applications and MFP fleets, a paperless fax solution becomes the most connected device in an organization, optimizing patient information exchange, reducing costs and increasing productivity.
In another key benefit, digital fax also reduces risk to help ensure compliance with HIPAA guidelines protecting the confidentiality of PHI. Survey respondents recognize this: Most agree or strongly agree that other forms of exchange increase HIPAA compliance risk (see chart above).
To meet the need for secure communication of PHI, new, interoperable tools based on standards for the secure transmission of health care records are coming into use across many health care organizations. The survey found that health organizations are either currently using or considering the use of these tools. Health systems can make a seamless transition to a modern, secure, and interoperable exchange of patient documentation that’s integrated across systems and applications, leveraging their existing paperless fax solution.
Meaningful connectivity and interoperability are within reach simply by leveraging the most integrated and connected means for patient information exchange, a paperless fax solution, to optimize the exchange to achieve connectivity, improve processes and workflows, and increase care coordination.
Bottom line
In the medical industry, the pressure to reduce costs while increasing the quality of care is relentless. Efficient and secure communication of PHI and medical records is an important requirement for healthcare institutions as they strive to attain these difficult goals.
As other forms of patient information exchange emerge, such as Direct messaging and other forms of electronic exchange, it’s important that fax technology evolve to coexist with these new forms of exchange because fax is so deeply rooted in health care. When fax coexists with other forms of exchange, it allows health care organizations to begin to transition to new forms of exchange at their own pace.
The QuickPulse survey clearly indicates that paperless fax has a key part to play in the secure, HIPAA-compliant communication of PHI both now and in the future. By integrating with EMR and other applications, digital fax fulfills a pivotal role today, while enabling organizations to seamlessly transition to secure standard protocols tomorrow. For these reasons, IT leaders should strongly consider increasing their investment in cloud-based or on-premises digital fax technology as a secure and efficient means of current communications and a catalyst for future patient information exchange methods.
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