Biscom - A History of Innovation

Though the fax machine may be on the verge of extinction, industry findings suggest that the fax industry will grow by 6.9% CAGR through 2017 (Frost & Sullivan). Why? As Peter Davidson of Davidson Consulting explains: "Fax has evolved into a computer-driven capability that integrates with every type of information system, and is capable of receiving documents, turning them from images into data in a matter of seconds, and is of enormous benefit to both productivity and bottom line.”

And with that, fax technology is being used in fresh ways, especially in healthcare. Our
customer highlight today is Barnes Healthcare Services (BHS). As a privately-owned medical equipment company, BHS sends and receive medical equipment orders, invoices, and prescriptions from doctors, physical therapists, and hospitals.

Prior to implementing Biscom's Hybrid Fax platform BHS experienced many issues, including delayed delivery of faxes. "The Web-based fax service we were using wasn't reliable. We experienced issues, including the system being down frequently, and delayed delivery of faxes to our customers. We had to find a way to restore customer confidence and demonstrate that the faxes critical to their work and business would be delivered rapidly and without mistakes," said BHS’s Director of Information Technology.

An excellent article in Healthcare IT News (8/2012) on how fax remains the predominant form of communication for 63% of healthcare providers with experts saying fax will continue for decades. This article also begins to explain why.

We think it's wonderful news that Massachusetts General Hospital has been ranked the number one hospital according to US News and World Report this year. After closely trailing Johns Hopkins (also a fine hospital) for 21 years, MGH has one more bragging right. 

The July 10th For The Record Web Exclusive: "Get the Most out of Your Secure File Transfer System" discussed the importance of easily securing Protected Health Information (PHI) across healthcare entities.

The article in Health Management Technology discusses today's challenges communicating Protected Health Information (PHI) and how Secure File Transfer (SFT) systems are helping healthcare entities secure PHI, accelerate clinical productivity, and drive end-user adoption.

With robust HIPAA, HITECH, and state governmental regulations, meaningful use financial incentives, and accelerated auditing of Protected Health Information (PHI), it’s always smart to ensure the basics are in place to protect the security of faxes containing PHI. The HIPAA Act also establishes guidelines and regulations for faxing PHI data.

Health data breach spending is projected to reach $70 Billion by 2015 related to EHR (Electronic Health Record)  systems and mobile technology to meet government compliance standards.  (The Boyd Company)

With recent examples of major data breaches and increased regulatory oversight to secure PHI, healthcare entities are questioning existing methods for file sharing and collaboration. These include common web-based file sharing services that may be unsecure and difficult or impossible to audit by the IT and compliance organizations.

Central to achieving HIPAA compliance and meaningful use qualification is securing PHI data within the enterprise and externally when communicating with partners, suppliers, payers, and providers. The best way to secure PHI data is to encrypt it effectively. This includes PHI data in transport and at rest. Tracking and auditing the file transfer process will also help healthcare organizations through upcoming meaningful use qualifications.

The question is whether complete security can be obtained easily with broad end-user adoption, integration with current systems, and seamless handling of large files. Securing patient information should be as easy as email without any of the hassles.

Thankfully, secure file transfer technology is encrypted, can integrate with existing systems, handles large files with ease, and will provide IT with automatic auditing and reporting across the enterprise. Best of all, user adoption should be immediate.

In the following Network World article, Ellen Messmer discusses how enterprises are beginning to secure PHI data with ease, avoiding the data breach risks that can be introduced by commonly used file-sharing services.

Redspin cites the increasing concentration of protected health information (PHI) on unencrypted portable devices and the lack of sufficient oversight of PHI disclosed to hospital’s business associates as the main reasons for the increase.