Most of us remember the first time we ever had to deal with our insurance or healthcare providers, and that awkward moment – the moment when you’re given a landline number and are told to “fax over” your documents.
“Fax? Like with a big fax machine? Who has one of those??”
It’s normal to start feeling like you’ve been doing something wrong your whole life, like you’re not a real adult because you don’t have a big clunky fax machine at home. But don’t worry. Very few people still keep fax machines, and although it can seem like quite a challenge if you’ve never done it before, sending a fax is actually much easier than it has ever been before (and cheaper!).
This article will talk you through the most convenient, the fastest, and most affordable way to send that crucially important fax containing your medical records – and we’ll tell you why faxing is still the best way to do it.
Medical Records – Why Fax?
It still surprises people to learn that faxing is still very much king in the healthcare and insurance industry. According to the Atlantic, 75% of all medical communications in America still happen by fax. It’s not just an American thing either – faxing is still the number one way of sending medical information down under in Australia. There are so many reasons for this – which you can read about here – but there are 2 huge reasons why the medical industry loves fax: it’s super secure, and people are used to it.
Well, honestly there’s one more big reason – HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA established something called the Privacy Rule, which forces healthcare providers to take reasonable steps to protect patient health information. The rule specifically mentions faxing as a secure way to do this, and provides clear guidelines on how to fax safely and securely. So basically, as long as medical providers follow those exact instructions, they’re good.
HIPAA literally established the playbook for faxing medical records, and HIPAA compliant fax services are now very widespread and much cheaper to maintain than a highly secure email or digital system. Digital systems also come with problems – for example, 34% of hospitals reported being the victim of a ransomware attack in the last year, which locks them out of their electronic systems. These attacks are impossible over a faxing network, and the faxing systems in hospitals are full of safeguards, protections, and security protocols. This, along with the fact that doctors are just used to faxing now, is why you should always fax your medical records if you can.
Faxing Medical Records – The Best Option
Okay, so you’ve got your medical records, you’ve got the fax number you need to send them to, and you know that faxing is the best, safest way to send them. What now? You’ve got a few options:
- Find a physical, traditional fax machine. Maybe your grandma still has one? You can also find them in office supply stores, or maybe in your place of work if you work in an office. This is obviously not very convenient, and will take some time.
- Buy a fax machine. Modern fax machines aren’t quite as big as the old-fashioned ones, and you can probably find one online. You’ll also have to buy paper and ink, and connect it to a phone line. This would be convenient in the long run, but also pretty expensive.
- Use Municorn Fax App. Here’s the good news: if you’re reading this article with a phone or a computer, you can send a fax in the next 5 minutes, without going anywhere or buying anything.
We’re going to assume that you want to fax your medical records in the fastest, easiest, cheapest way – so we’ll be focusing on how to take the last option, and use a fax app.
Digital faxing and online fax services let you turn your phone or computer into a fax machine, and most come with all the security and protection of a regular machine. Municorn’s Fax App, for instance, has been given a HIPAA Seal of Compliance – guaranteeing secure transmission of medical documents, strict privacy safeguards for your health information, and is in line with all the federal regulations for protecting your data. It uses the latest protocols like end-to-end encryption, and keeps audit trails of all communications, so that you know exactly when your faxes have been sent and received – none of these things are standard with email.
The other thing about using Municorn’s Fax App – it’s cheaper. In fact, you get to try for free. You can pay a very small amount for an unlimited faxing plan that suits you – no paying for each page like you do with other fax apps, or when you use a fax machine.
Faxing apps are also very easy to use. You know how to use your phone, so you don’t need to learn what each button on the fax machine does, or how to connect it to a phone line – just download the app, and you’re all set with an easy user interface.
How To Fax Your Medical Records Today
Let’s go through a step-by-step on how you can start faxing your medical records today. The golden rule of faxing medical records is to be careful – check the fax number, check the documents, check everything twice! You don’t want your data falling into the wrong hands, and you don’t want to send the wrong documents.
- Download Municorn’s Fax App. Check out all the ways you can use the Fax App – it works on all main smartphones, and you can download the Fax App in just a few minutes.
- Sign up and get your fax number. When you get started, you can choose your own fax number, which will be your own personal fax number to send and receive faxes from. You can even choose your own area code.
- Create your fax. Use the ‘Add image or document’ option to add as many pages as you need to your fax. Don’t worry about the order – you can reorder them before you send the fax. You can use the app to directly scan any physical documents you might have to send, but you can also upload your medical records as digital files, and the app will convert any file format to a fax, ready to send. Once you’ve finished this step, we’ll remind you of the golden rule of faxing medical records – check again!
- Use a cover sheet. This is an important step that you must not skip! Your cover sheet will act the same way a ‘subject’ does on an email – but importantly, it will mark your fax as protected health information, and confidential. The Fax App includes the option to add a HIPAA compliant cover sheet which will tell any recipient that the fax you are sending is private, and protected! Once you send your medical records, only a few authorized personnel will be able to read it! Include your name, and any other basic, non-sensitive information which might be important.
- Finish your fax. We’re going back to the golden rule again – check everything! Make sure you’ve entered the fax number perfectly, and then review your cover sheet, your fax pages, and then check the fax number one more time, just to be safe!
- Send the fax. Once you’re done, hit send. You’ve just used the most secure, cheapest, and easiest way of sending your medical records!
Why Might You Need To Fax Medical Records?
Faxing medical records is not as uncommon as you might think – there are lots of basic reasons why we all need to do it from time to time. The first, and most obvious reason, is for insurance reasons. Health insurance companies will usually need some records from you to do things like process claims or accept new policies – we hope this never happens, but if you ever find yourself dealing with a claim for something, faxing your medical records is the safest and quickest way to get them to the right person.
There are also things like legal or employment processes that would require some people to fax medical records – it’s a very secure way to process any disability claims, any compensation, or fit-for-work documents.
The medical industry still relies hugely on faxing, and it’s seen by most as being far more secure than email. Experts also agree – it isn’t going away anytime soon.
Is Faxing Secure For Medical Records?
There’s a reason the medical industry still relies hugely on faxing – it’s seen by most as being far more secure than email. This is not just a stereotype, it’s true – it’s much more secure than email and cloud storage, because it is less exposed – user data and passwords get hacked every single day from online criminals, even in the safest places. Fax machines, and end-to-end encrypted fax services which comply with HIPAA, are much more difficult to breach.
When talking about faxing systems in the medical industry, one professional had this to say:
“When a fax transmission happens it’s like a phone call. If I faxed you, there’s no way to tap into your line… It’s extremely tough to do. There’s just no [other] way to securely connect every doctor and pharmacy. If you invent it, you’ll become extremely wealthy.”
That last thing he said points to another big issue, which is referred to as ‘interoperability’ in the industry. Electronic health record systems are not only more expensive and more vulnerable to data breaches than faxing, but there’s another huge problem – there are so many different types of them, and they don’t “talk” to each other. Faxing also allows people with different IT systems and softwares to communicate with one shared technology, which is another reason the industry uses faxing as a secure way to transfer medical records.
The Best Way To Start Faxing Medical Records
We know that sending medical records can be time-sensitive, it can be stressful, and it usually needs to happen at an important time in life. Whether you’re switching insurance providers or making a healthcare claim, it’s never exactly fun to have to deal with these types of things. That’s why Municorn has made it easier than ever to send those all-important faxes, which will guarantee you the highest level of security and protection, which you deserve.
If you ever need us, our Fax App is always available to you, and you can take care of that stressful job of sending your medical information in just a few easy minutes. The Fax App comes with a support team chat function, so we hope to see you on the app soon!
