GoldFax for Healthcare

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 requires health care providers to adopt standards to ensure the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI). GoldFax has been designed to help protect the confidentiality of PHI when transmitting or receiving information and documents via fax.

GoldFax has been selected by healthcare providers ranging from single physician medical practices, drug companies, major hospitals, and government organizations like U.S. Veterans Health Administration.

Healthcare software solution providers have selected GoldFax as the integrated faxing solution including Cerner, Drs Document Retrieval System, IME Software Solutions, and PatientNOW.

HIPAA Compliance Issues and Concerns with Paper-based Fax Machines and MFPs

The transmission of PHI by fax can result in significant HIPAA violations and privacy risks when using conventional manual paper fax machines and Multi Function Printer (MFPs). Sent and received faxes and the processes used to generate and deliver the faxes can lead to delivery or receipt of PHI in unsecured locations.

Key HIPAA concerns related to fax transmissions are:

• Access – Who has access to the faxes? How is unauthorized access being ensured?
• Authentication – Who was the fax sent to or received from? Can it be documented?
• Reporting/Tracking – Can fax transactions be audited?
• Reproducibility – Can a previously sent or received fax be reproduced for verification?

Paper-based fax machines are inherently non-secure. A received fax or a fax that was just sent can be left in the open to be viewed by unauthorized personnel. For example, a package delivery person could walk past a paper fax machine and view patient confidential information. More risky is an unauthorized person could inadvertently or intentionally pick up, view, and remove a confidential document on a paper fax machine without the intended recipient ever receiving it. Also, many documents must be printed first before faxing - creating an additional opportunity for access to confidential information to be compromised.

GoldFax Fax Server Advantages over Paper-based Fax Machines and MFPs

GoldFax allows health care providers to send and receive fax data and documents from their computers and integrated MFPs to be compliant with HIPAA guidelines.
Received Faxes

• Inbound faxes converted to electronic image format (Adobe PDF or TIFF)
• Personal and confidential Direct Inward Dial (DID) fax numbers vs. fax machines or fax-enabled MFPs
• Fax routers that can only view 1st page of received fax
• Automatic fax archiving and document/content management integration

Sent Faxes

• Fax electronic documents directly from computer without printing
• Fax paper documents from GoldFax integrated MFPs
• Organizational standards with automated fax cover sheets
• Fax status notifications (success or failure) via email
• Automatic fax archiving and document/content management integration

GoldFax Supports HIPAA Compliance Requirements

GoldFax helps address HIPAA Access, Authentication, Reporting/Tracking, and Reproducibility compliance requirements in a number of ways including:

• Access - User Name and Password protected access to send and receive faxes via GoldFax
• Authentication - GoldFax tracks the name of the user sending a fax via GoldFax and the name of the user or destination a received fax is routed to
• Reporting/Tracking - GoldFax Reports provide data on all sent and received faxes
• Reproducibility - GoldFax can archive a copy of all sent and received fax images to secured folders along with data regarding the fax transaction and integrate with any document and content management system

GoldFax Saves Money for Healthcare

• Reduce or eliminate telephone costs of conventional analog fax lines
• Fax from GoldFax integrated MFPs without expense of fax expansion kit and fax telephone line
• Reduce paper, toner, maintenance costs of fax machines, MFPs, and printers – paperless faxing

GoldFax Improves Productivity for Healthcare

• Automatic fax routing directly to email
• Fax from computer applications without printing