Faxing Medical Records: A Complete Guide for HIPAA-Compliant Faxing

Still, offline and online faxing ensure the secure transmission of medical records when carried out correctly. This security is enhanced when using HIPAA-compliant faxing tools like confidentiality cover sheets, fax logs, and more.

HIPAA regulations and protected health information: an overview

HIPAA regulations and PHI are closely related, with the former ensuring that the latter always remains confidential. HIPAA is the national standard for medical record protection, regulating the following:

• PHI: Protected Health Information that includes a person’s full medical history, stored physically or digitally.
• De-identified Health Information: An individual’s medical records stripped of all data that could identify them.
• Treatment: The overall healthcare plan, including medicine and consultations with medical experts.
• Payment: The financial funding of medical treatment and the reimbursement of a person who has accessed healthcare.
• Healthcare operations: The examination and treatment of any citizen.

Requirements for HIPAA-compliant fax transmissions

Although it’s technically safe, protected health information faxing under HIPAA regulations has numerous requirements:

• Using unique identification credentials or keys, preferably one-time authentication codes, ensures recipients that the sender’s identity is legitimate.
• Introducing emergency access procedures lets you remotely acquire electronically stored PHI (ePHI) documents in an emergency.
• Automatically logging off users prevents unauthorized access to confidential data if the device is left unattended.
• End-to-end encryption turns confidential data into undecipherable text for those without proper authorization.

Risks of HIPAA non-compliant faxing

While healthcare providers do everything in their power to follow HIPAA regulations, there have been times when careless faxing exposed a patient’s confidential records. For instance, a hospital had to pay a $387,000 fine for accidentally sending a patient’s HIV diagnosis to their employer. Not every penalty is so drastic, and they vary in reasons and how much money is fined.

• Unknowing neglect: Up to $50,000 fine per violation, with repeated violations capped at $25,000 per year.
• Reasonable cause: A fine of up to $100,000, which can be a yearly amount for repeated violations.
• Willful neglect, but the mistake is corrected: A fine of up to $250,000 per violation or a repeated fine yearly if the violation happens again.
• Willful neglect where the mistake isn’t corrected: Up to a $1.5 million fine, which can also be per year if the violation is repeated.
• Legal implications and other consequences: Lawsuits, charges, and negative effects on a healthcare provider’s reputation and client base. In a worst-case scenario, even jail time can be issued.

Best practices for HIPAA-compliant faxing

Never leave faxes unattended

You should lock away confidential medical records safely. In addition, the fax machine should be kept in an enclosed space where only authorized personnel can access it. Also, you should always notify recipients of a fax you’re sending and wait for inbound records.

Fax to the right place

When using physical fax machines, you should always double-check that you are sending personal data to the correct number. The same goes for online fax services, although many come with a handy contact book to make sure you always get it right.

Use HIPAA-compliant cover sheets

One key aspect of HIPAA regulations is including a confidential cover sheet in your fax. Essential details include the recipient’s name and fax number, the sender’s name, the date, and a HIPAA and confidentiality disclaimer. It’s also vital to have the word ‘Confidential’ written on the sheet in capital letters.

Conduct regular audits

When faxing medical records, knowing where they’re sent to and stored is essential for tracing any issues to the source. Knowing exactly where confidential medical records are and regularly checking if they’ve been moved reduces the risk of them being lost or stolen.

Train staff on HIPAA compliance and proper faxing procedures

Other than following the aforementioned HIPAA compliance best practices, you should also encourage employees to prioritize confidentiality. For instance, no patient cases should be discussed in communal spaces. Furthermore, personnel should never share passwords of a fax machine, EHR, or EMR.

Opt for a HIPAA-compliant online fax service

HIPAA requires data to be kept safe at all times: in transit and once stored. For faxing medical records online, keeping data safe means using strong security. In addition to supporting various devices, a trustworthy online fax service like eFax ensures quick data transfer and reduced costs. Furthermore, it provides secure encryption protocols like AES-256 to protect confidential medical data.

It’s also essential to store data safely online with an account that can be accessed securely, ideally with two-factor authentication. Furthermore, online fax services use audit trails for HIPAA-compliant faxing to track and timestamp documents.

Additional benefits include the provision of EHR integration for secure fax transmission. This makes it easy for clinicians to transfer data directly from their EHR software to other professionals.

Faxing medical records couldn’t be safer with a HIPAA-compliant online fax service like eFax. Besides encrypting faxes so they can be opened in emails safely, the platform minimizes accidental inputs by letting you save fax number contacts.

Conclusion

The benefits of HIPAA-compliant faxing in healthcare include keeping patients’ medical data safe while reinforcing clients’ trust in your company. If a healthcare provider doesn’t adhere to HIPAA regulations, it’ll likely face high fines and eventually lose its clientele.

Faxing medical records online ensures that individuals’ data remains safe while being stored in the cloud and transferred to fellow professionals. Trying out a HIPAA-compliant online faxing solution, which can be done for free with the provider eFax, is a vital first step toward establishing trust with your patients.