Healthcare struggles to get rid of fax

Research published by Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare

Only 21% of the 182 million “prior authorization (PA) contracts” were fully electronic in 2020
(A prior authorization or pre-authorization, is a requirement from patient’s health insurance company that their doctor obtain an approval from their plan before it will cover the costs of a specific medicine, medical device or procedure)
Physicians burn 16 hours per week on prior authorization process
91% of physicians report that PA delayed necessary care to patients
90% say process resulted in a negative impact on clinical outcomes
24% say it led to a serious adverse event for a patient in their care
74% say PA led to patients abandoning their recommended course of treatment
PA process can involve as many as 70 faxed pages
81% say PA requirements have increased
Top factors given by healthcare executives when asked why they still fax PHI:
- 46% = recipient requires it
- 46% = convenient and easy
- 45% = it is secure (more secure than scan to email)
- 44% = confirm delivery
- 31% = it is what we have always used
65% of healthcare workers have not heard of Direct Secure Messaging (DSM)
41% say that DSM is not available at their place of employment