![]() What is a Fax?A Fax refers to the telephonic transference of scanned print outs of information in the form of text or images. While it isn’t compulsory, a cover sheet elevates ordinary documents and makes them look neat and professional. For instance a Fax cover sheet is highly recommended when engaging in official correspondence or transferring business information through a Tele-fax. Despite strong competition from a whole host of new internet routed information transmission options, Fax correspondence continues to be a reliable favourite for most corporate and local businesses.It is important to have a basic understanding of business etiquette when utilizing these means of communication. More specifically, they further help you satisfy the access control standard.IntroductionBusiness communication has required the use of Fax transmissions for decades. Implementing them within your electronic faxes helps your organization stay in compliance with the technical safeguard requirements imposed by the Security Rule. The answer to that question is still yes. ![]() In other words, you’re probably wondering whether or not there’s a point to having a cover sheet if everything is electronically sent. If you’re a part of that majority, you most likely use an electronic fax system. After all, practically 90% of healthcare entities used electronic formats in 2017. Other unauthorized employees walking by wouldn’t have been able to catch a glimpse of the patient’s records because the cover sheet would’ve blocked all wandering eyes. The fax would’ve printed out at the podiatrist and still sat on the rack for a day, but it wouldn't have mattered nearly as much this time around. If you were to add a cover sheet to the patient’s record before you faxed it over to the podiatrist, things would’ve been different. In other words, it’s an added step in protecting your organization from any external factors leading to a violation. HIPAA compliant fax cover sheets exist to mitigate any of the risks associated with sending sensitive data to another organization. That’s against the overall rules highlighted within the Security rule. On your end, it’s your fault that you didn’t protect a patient’s sensitive information. Technically that is a HIPAA violation and the fault lies with both organizations. ![]() In other words, whoever walks past the fax machine may readily view the patient’s records for one full workday. What ends up happening, though, is that the records print out at the specialist’s office and sits on the printer’s shelf for one full day. Sending the record this way isn’t the problem. You sent the patient record via fax due to how secure it is. However, what happens next is where you run into trouble. This process isn’t uncommon, it happens to thousands of other healthcare organizations every day. You fax the information to the specialist. The doctor delegates the work of sending the information to you, the practice manager. Once the initial appointment concludes, the doctor then has to send the patient’s record to the specialist so that she can prepare for the referred appointment. The patient chooses which specialist to see and lets the doctor know. Luckily, the doctor has a few decades of experience under his belt (hopefully he doesn’t retire anytime soon), so he has a solid list of podiatrists to refer this patient to. A patient comes in one day with a foot problem that can’t get treated at the office you work. Awesome.īetween the patients coming in with the flu and strep throat, it’s only a matter of time before the head doctor sees a client who needs a specialist. You work at a general practitioner’s office that sees a high volume of patients. Let me give you a scenario that explains why that’s the case. ![]() Yet, even though it’s not a direct requirement, it’s a best practice. Nowhere in HIPAA does it come out and state that healthcare providers or other covered entities must attach a cover sheet to all of the faxes that they send.
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