The NHS has a problem. For decades the humble fax machine has been a cornerstone of communication within the health service. Yet due to Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s deadline mandating their removal by April 2020, fax machines have to go. The NHS is now in the position of being forced to suddenly relinquish a technology that it is simply not ready to part ways with.
In the eight months that have passed since the announcement of the ban on traditional paper-based fax machines, only a handful of organisations have made headway in removing them. Why? Lack of funding? Prioritisation? Poor alternatives? Confusion as to what constitutes the removal of a fax machine? Most likely all of the above.
Hancock’s fax machine ban seems warranted, at least to the world outside of healthcare where fax is often considered laughable and archaic. But they have numerous advantages over other systems. The immediate transmission of important patient documentation, such as prescriptions, referrals, waivers and treatment files. The validation of signatures that are regularly required for these documents and the fact that faxing offers perhaps the most reliable, if not familiar, way of legally submitting files within and across healthcare organisations from pharmacies to care homes. For healthcare, fax is currently integral to the way the NHS operates.
Nevertheless, fax machines are not without their disadvantages. Hancock did not call current systems “downright dangerous” without reason. Numerous organisations have been fined for sending patient files to the wrong number or for documents being picked-up by the wrong person, in turn creating a major confidentiality breach. For example, not that long ago the ICO levied a £60,000 fine against St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust after confidential medical details were sent to the wrong person.
On top of possible fines for misuse, the inefficacy and cost-ineffectiveness of the process is clear when considering the transmission speed of one page per minute. Not to mention paper blockages, empty toner cartridges and checking faxes have been received, resulting in even more delays to decision making and patient care.
So, whilst the removal of physical fax machines is undoubtably in need, could this seemingly hard and fast deadline lead to further issues for healthcare organisations down the line?
Finding a replacement for such an ingrained and frequently used tool of communication will take time – that has already been made clear by the sheer number of trusts who have not yet made progress. Whilst some are moving to NHSmail, the ultimate goal for many NHS organisations is to have all patient information and communication incorporated and shared within an electronic patient record or within a local health and care record exemplar (LHCRE). Yet most are months if not years from being able to achieve that and the implementation of a new system without proper planning could lead to massive costs and potential roll-out issues.
Therefore, verbalisation of progress not perfection could potentially be what is required from the Health Secretary at this stage. In fact, a spokesperson for NHSX recently signalled that internet-based digital cloud fax technology – which removes the physical fax machines solution – would be a suitable way to bridge the gap of fax versus faxless, but this message seems not to have reached the wider NHS, leaving them in a state of flux. This approach would in turn meet the demands laid out by Hancock whilst allowing for long-term infrastructure to be developed at a suitable rate, with ample time allotted for testing and effective integration.
Internet-based digital cloud fax technology takes the process of physical faxing and adapts it to the modern day, offering far heightened levels of online security. Files are encrypted and transmitted through digital platforms instead of being sent and received as paper documents. And sending documents to the wrong recipient becomes a lot more difficult, as you no longer dial numbers, instead transmitting files through pre-approved contacts. It also avoids the resource waste associated with physical faxing (time spent queuing, waiting and following-up) and the expense required for paper, ink or maintenance. More importantly, it stores files in a digital space, whether they are sent or received, meaning there is a full audit trail.
What’s more, as other NHS trusts and external organisations such as pharmacies, care homes and private clinics continue to phase out their machines at different rates, internet-based digital cloud fax technology maintains open communication channels with partners that may be unable or unwilling to remove their machines.
What’s left now, is for some additional action from Hancock and his team to not only reinforce what the viable alternatives are, but to bridge the gap between old and new and technology in a more considered way and provide further guidance and direction on the NHS fax ban in order to have any chance in bringing the country closer to the post-fax era.
By John Nebergall, Senior Vice President and General Manager of eFax
