The Current Reality

In an era of digital transformation, one staid technology continues to burden healthcare providers: the fax. Consider a typical orthopedic surgery center processing a new patient referral. Staff members spend an average of 45 minutes per case manually sorting through incoming faxes, often 50+ pages of medical history, insurance documents, and prior imaging reports, just to find essential information about the patient's condition and insurance status. A single missing document or illegible page can delay surgery scheduling by days or even weeks. Despite such technological advances as AI-powered diagnostics and robotic surgical systems, healthcare professionals still spend countless hours managing faxed referrals, medical records, and patient information.

The Scale of the Problem

Healthcare providers are drowning in an ever-increasing volume of faxed communications. As of 2019, seven in ten hospitals still relied on fax machines for transferring patient records and ordering prescriptions. The scale is staggering, major healthcare providers process between 1,000-5,000 faxes monthly, with many facilities handling millions of faxed prescriptions annually. This antiquated system leads to lost documents, delayed care, and countless hours of administrative work that could be better spent on patient care.

The Financial Impact

The costs of maintaining outdated communication systems are substantial. According to comprehensive insurance claims analysis:

• Elective surgical cases contribute 78% ($1.1 trillion) to inpatient hospital plus outpatient surgical gross revenue annually

• Musculoskeletal, circulatory, and digestive procedures account for 33% ($447 billion) of total revenue

• Hospitals lose between $1,430 and $1,700 per hour for same-day surgery cancellations

• During just three months of elective surgery delays in 2020, U.S. hospitals lost $22.3 billion in revenue

The Hidden Costs of Cancellations

Day-of-surgery cancellations (DoSC) affect between 2% and 20% of the 50 million procedures performed annually in American hospitals. Most concerning, research shows that 59.7% of cancellations after the patient is in the operating room could have been prevented. Delaying urgent surgical treatment by just two hours is associated with 39% higher costs for the same care. These preventable issues often stem from incomplete documentation and inefficient communication systems.

Why Healthcare Remains Tethered to Fax

Despite today's digital age, fax machines remain deeply entrenched in healthcare communications. As of 2019, seven in ten hospitals still relied on fax machines for transferring patient records and ordering prescriptions, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).

While Electronic Health Records (EHRs) were supposed to digitize healthcare communications, interoperability issues between different systems have kept fax machines relevant. Healthcare providers, pharmacies, and insurance companies continue using fax technology because it's universal and familiar, even though it operates on 1940s technology. The persistence of fax machines creates significant inefficiencies - healthcare workers spend hours managing fax communications, documents frequently need to be re-sent due to poor transmission quality, and lost or misrouted faxes can delay patient care by days.

The challenge isn't simply technological - it's systemic. Without security across all healthcare sectors (including skilled nursing facilities, pharmacies, and insurance providers), and with concerns about EHR security vulnerabilities, many healthcare organizations continue relying on fax as their primary communication method. The persistence of fax-based communication stems from several factors:

• Security concerns about digital alternatives, particularly regarding HIPAA requirements

• Established workplace cultures resistant to change

• The interconnected nature of healthcare systems requiring universal compatibility

• Interoperability issues between different Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems

• Concerns about EHR security vulnerabilities

The Highpass Solution

Highpass has developed a modern approach to this challenge with a HIPAA-compliant AI platform that maintains the highest security standards while streamlining document management, coordination and collaboration for a patients total healthcare record. The platform:

• Automatically ingests and digitizes incoming faxes

• Converts documents into searchable, structured data

• Integrates information with existing electronic health records

• Provides an intuitive interface for locating specific information

• Enables direct request collaboration for missing information

• Offers convenient dashboard view of all outstanding, pending and completed records

• Maintains strict security protocols

• Saves, time and money while allowing healthcare professionals time to offer the best care possible

The system employs state-of-the-art encryption and security measures that exceed HIPAA requirements while offering intuitive navigation that allows users to quickly adapt with minimal training.

The Path Forward

The transformation of healthcare document management represents a critical step forward in modernizing healthcare delivery systems. While the industry's reliance on faxing persists due to complex systemic factors, Highpass offers a sophisticated solution that bridges the gap between traditional communication methods and modern efficiency requirements.

The implications extend beyond operational efficiency. By streamlining document management processes, healthcare providers can redirect valuable resources toward patient care, potentially improving health outcomes and patient satisfaction. As healthcare continues to evolve, the ability to efficiently manage and secure patient information while maintaining seamless communication between providers will become increasingly crucial.

Highpass stands at the forefront of this evolution, offering a solution that not only addresses current challenges but also positions healthcare providers for future advancement in digital healthcare delivery.

To learn more about how Highpass can transform your healthcare document management systems while maintaining the highest security standards, contact our team of healthcare technology specialists today.

References

1. Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). "Electronic Health Record Adoption and Interoperability Report." 2019.

2. British Journal of Surgery. "Global Impact of COVID-19 on Elective Surgery." 2020.

3. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). "Healthcare Communication Survey." 2024.

4. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). "The Cost of Surgical Delays in US Hospitals." 2018.

5. American Hospital Association (AHA). "Regulatory Overload: Assessing the Regulatory Burden on Health Systems." 2020.

6. International Journal for Quality in Health Care. "US Hospital Operating Room Costs." 2021.

7. Annals of Surgery. "The Cost of Quarantine: Projecting the Financial Impact of Canceled Elective Surgery." 2021.

8. Anesthesiology Research and Practice. "Contributing Factors to Operating Room Delays." 2022.