By skyforbes 
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology have taken the pledge to digitize the medical industry dealing with physical patient records. Seema Verma, Administrator of CMS called for the phase out of fax machines from all clinics and doctor offices by 2020.
The organizations have come together to create new opportunities for interoperability and seamless flow of medical information between the patient, care provider and insurance companies. Instead of using faxes, the CMS wants all doctors and physicians to switch over to digital health information and seeking developers to create user-friendly applications for all stakeholders. Verma feels that healthcare is still stuck in the 1990s and they should do something to make the work of the physicians easier.
Doctors React to the Decision
Doctors and physicians took to social media to let their opinions known about the decision. Some feel that it is not a good idea as fax machines are difficult to hack and makes the system safer. One doctor took things to different level and told that now the medical community will take to passenger pigeons for exchanging health information.
There was quite a flurry over the comment and one physician commented that they should use pony express instead of passenger pigeons to find their way around fax machines and HISP Email Directories. One doctor was apt to wonder how CMS is going to achieve the task and commented that we have to wait till 2019 to find out.
Someone else pointed out the physician’s unwillingness to adapt to new systems and remain dependent on paper. He said that we have spent billions on Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and have common devices like smartphones which can be used to send secure texts and information. But still the healthcare community has not moved over to digitization even when all technologies are available. And that is what makes healthcare expensive and dysfunctional, according to his opinion.
The Decision doesn’t Address the Root Cause of Problems
We have seen the inadequate ways that the government tries to solve healthcare problems. We have so many buzz words floating around like patient empowerment, interoperability, physician burnout, seamless flow of information- but to no avail! On the other hand we have MACRA, ICD 10 coding, Value based reimbursement, patient outcome, efficiency, meaningful use of electronic medical records, MOC for physicians, rural health issues- it feels like we are living in a jungle!
I believe that Seema Verma has sincere intentions in wanting to phase out the use of fax machines but surely it is not the way to go. She is not correct in dividing and fragmenting the whole physician community and healthcare system and has to understand why physicians still use the fax machine.
Why do Doctors still use the Fax Machine?
Fax machines are still present in all medical clinics, hospitals and doctor offices. It is still being widely used as the HIPAA recognizes it as a secure way to send information. Emails can be hacked easily but it is really difficult to hack a fax and thus it qualifies for transacting medical records.
Sending faxes are also much simpler than sending and encrypted email and many doctors don’t want to let go of this simplicity. The fax machine combines sending information, scanning and printing it in one step and many doctors prefer this convenience.
Some medical platforms like Doximity had devised solutions to send faxes using smartphones. Many clinics and hospitals still rely on the old system and it is necessary to have a fax machine for communication even if the organization has turned to digital information.
Hospitals or clinics which have shifted to digital methods still don’t have the capability for interoperability. So when patient information has to be sent to a new provider, they have to depend on fax. Also, some doctors are reluctant to learn the new technology and still use the outdated fax machine.
We need Solutions to deal with Root Causes
All the steps to correct healthcare feels like more mandates on top of mandates and increased levels of arm twisting. The government is adding more burden without resolving the existing problems. Fax machines are outdated but there are reasons that doctors have stuck with it.
But now when better technologies are available, why do some doctors still want to use it? The case is simply the alienation of the medical community. The government should deal with the root cause of problems and help the medical community to take up right tools to meet the current requirements and avoid burnout.
The comfort of physicians and patients are necessary for quality healthcare and we need to unite all physicians on this subject. A corporate environment can cause a dent to patient and physician empowerment with the ‘divide and rule’ concept. Governments should look to strengthen the bonds between all doctors and also patients so that a solution can be derived.
We have to rope in the doctors and use their collaboration for coming up with any solution. Governments should encourage startups and innovation for state of the art solutions and heal the broken trust of healthcare.
We have to get rid of the monopolistic market and stress on the consumerism of patients which will help physicians move over to new technologies. Unnecessary mandates and micro regulations should be avoided as much as possible so that we can prevent physician burnout and deliver a positive patient outcome.