Faxing continues to remain as a primary vessel for document-sharing in the healthcare community. While sending medical records, referrals, prescription requests, authorization forms, and many more important documents, medical practices must ensure safeguarding sensitive patient information. The traditional paper fax machine presents several security challenges. Fortunately, we have a plethora of faxing options to choose from, as users can now fax directly from their mobile device or computer.  These new options provide added security and the additional perk of portability.

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Why can’t I email instead of fax?

While some practices decide to email their medical records and documents, it is not recommended. Emailing sensitive information as a medical practice comes with a high risk of security breaches. Emails are not encrypted and can be easily intercepted. If you want to add protection, you would have to implement a third-party in order to provide encryption. In addition, as you send sensitive information over email, recipients may mark emails as spam or delete it if they do not recognize the email address. Lastly, there is no delivery confirmation when it is sent via email. As a result, you would not know if your document was delivered successfully. Alternatively, other online fax solutions, such as Medsender, enable you to check the status of your sent fax. For example, Medsender allows you to check if your fax was delivered, opened, or even signed. 

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How is faxing secure?

Faxing is still known as an important form of communication in the healthcare industry, as they communicate via telephone lines rather than through the internet. This prevents third parties from accessing private medical documents. In order to ensure security a step further, documents should be destroyed or archived to prevent unauthorized access to them. If your practice uses a fax machine, there is higher risk of losing physical documents with sensitive information. If you are using a HIPAA-compliant online fax solution, such as Medsender, your document remains encrypted to protect any sensitive information and there is less risk of record loss and misplacement. When a user receives a fax, it is confidentially delivered to your private inbox.

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Fax continues to be a staple in healthcare communication and is not going anywhere. It is recommended to do away with emailing and using a paper fax machine. However, choosing a HIPAA-compliant online fax solution is the best way to maintain rigid confidentiality while making it convenient.