As the world has gone digital, many people wonder why fax machines are still used and if they are still relevant. Despite the ubiquity of internet access and communication technologies like email and smartphones, faxing continues to hold its ground for various reasons, including institutional habit and inertia. Here, we explore the reasons behind the persistence of faxing technology and its relevance in 2024.

Absolutely! Fax machines continue to be an essential tool in various sectors like healthcare, law, and government, offering benefits such as security and regulatory compliance. Their unique features, including confirmation pages and the ability to transmit handwritten characters, make them indispensable in certain situations.

Yes, fax machines, a seemingly antiquated technology, continue to be a critical tool for various industries worldwide.

Fax machines continue to be used worldwide, with countries like Japan being one of the top users due to cultural preference for paper documents. Certain industries, such as healthcare and law, heavily rely on fax machines for secure document transmission. Despite digital advances, a 2021 study found that an astounding 46% of US small businesses still used fax machines1.

Despite the surge in technological advancements, fax machines are not entirely obsolete. They serve an important role in the secure transmission of sensitive documents, providing security that emails might not offer. They are particularly essential in regions with slower internet speeds or unreliable digital infrastructure, such as rural areas.

Companies across diverse sectors, including healthcare, law, government, and even technology, continue to rely on fax machines for communication. Although they are older technology, fax machines bring a host of benefits to modern-day communication scenarios. Here are some compelling reasons to use fax machines and faxing technology:

  1. Confirm receipts with confirmation pages: A fax confirmation page offers undeniable proof that your message reached its destination, minimizing the risk of lost communications.
  2. Strengthen security: Faxing protocols come equipped with robust security measures, making it a safe harbor in a world vulnerable to hacking and data breaches.
  3. Comply with patient privacy rules: Use faxing as a US HIPAA-compliant method for sharing Protected Health Information (PHI), a top choice among medical professionals.
  4. Streamline paperwork: With many offices and healthcare facilities still relying on paper, faxing offers an efficient channel for transmitting records and forms.
  5. Share medical records across incompatible systems: Faxing lets you send medical information without worrying about system incompatibility, making it a go-to choice in healthcare.
  6. Simplify compliance with regulations: Meet regulatory guidelines and government requirements effortlessly by integrating fax into your documentation processes.
  7. Keep the conversation going during internet outages: Use faxing as a reliable backup when the internet fails, ensuring your communications never skip a beat.
  8. Build solid legal paper trails: In the legal field, faxing offers an effective way to establish paper trails crucial for discovery processes.
  9. Transmit handwritten characters: Send handwritten Japanese, Chinese, and Korean characters without the digital hassle.
  10. Send physical signatures: With faxing, sending signed documents becomes a breeze, especially when a hand-signed signature is mandatory.

Fax machines offer high-level security, making them a preferred choice for transmitting private information. Certain regulatory requirements necessitate the use of fax machines in specific industries. Moreover, they provide quick and real-time delivery, which can be crucial in urgent situations.

The healthcare and law industries often prefer faxing due to the immediate delivery and receipt confirmation, which is important for time-sensitive documents. Faxing provides a physical paper trail, beneficial in legal situations. In addition, for some businesses, faxing can be more cost-effective and simpler than setting up secure digital systems.

Faxing is heavily used in the healthcare sector for transmitting patient records and prescriptions due to patient privacy regulations. Legal firms often use fax machines to send signed documents and contracts securely. Moreover, in Germany, fax is used as a legally binding method of communication, making it crucial in business and government sectors.

Faxing offers several advantages over digital communication. It offers direct and immediate transmission, reducing the risk of missing important documents. Faxes are harder to ignore or lose compared to emails, which can end up in spam or junk folders. Also, fax provides a level of security difficult to achieve with digital communication, making it ideal for transmitting sensitive data.

In Japan, fax machines are commonly used in homes due to the preference for handwriting and paper documents. Legal professionals often use fax machines to transmit signed legal documents and contracts. Meanwhile, healthcare workers resort to fax machines for transmitting patient records and prescriptions due to privacy regulations.

In this section

“Turn off our fax machines? That would be very bad”

“Turn off our fax machines? That would be very bad”

German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” investigates why fax machines are still in use in 43 percent of companies.  Zalando, a German multi national E-commerce company based in Berlin, for example, has a fax number because it “wants to be available through different channels”.  Government officials argue that some elderly people fax still to them.  Office machine technician Peter Somann reckons…

Germany to miss deadline for full rollout of e-prescriptions

Germany to miss deadline for full rollout of e-prescriptions

The rollout of a fully fledged digital prescriptions system in Germany will not meet the legally binding deadline of Jan. 1, 2022 due to delayed testing and the lack of technological infrastructure, the health ministry said. Germany’s outdated healthcare system, where many doctors still communicate primarily by fax machine and paper, has come under criticism…

120th Anniversary of the Birth of the Inventor of Faxes and Scans: Rudolf Hell

On December 19th, exactly 120 years ago, Rudolf Hell was born in a bustling train station, a fitting beginning to a life imbued with innovation and technological advancement. The great German inventor of the modern age, Hell was responsible for breakthroughs in the technology that led to the creation of television’s predecessor, fax machines, and…

IT integrator awarded $110M to streamline faxing at the VA

Cognosante has been awarded a $110 million task order to implement Enterprise Cloud Fax (ECFax) Services at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Spanning a base year and nine option years, the task order will see the technology company create a secure, cloud-hosted Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) ECFax service across the VA enterprise. Philip Dietz, General Manager…

Digital Health: Scalpel, swab, and … fax machine?

Digital Health: Scalpel, swab, and … fax machine?

A recent study conducted by YouGov on behalf of ITK provider Avaya reveals interesting insights into digital communication within German hospitals. While exploring the extent of digital tools, it emerged that faxing is still a daily practice. 50 percent of hospital staff surveyed by YouGov disclosed that they fax daily, and an additional 18 percent…

Health care clings to faxes as US pushes electronic records

Health care clings to faxes as US pushes electronic records

At least 70% of health-care providers still exchange medical information by fax, according to federal officials, and some providers, such as nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, rely heavily on the outdated technology. Electronic health records and other modern health IT tools hold much promise, but they under-deliver when it comes to moving information across…

Toronto’s municipal government planning to phase out its fax machines

Toronto’s municipal government planning to phase out its fax machines

Fax machines in Toronto’s city hall will soon bid farewell, as the city embarks on a new plan starting in 2022 to phase out the technology, making way for a more streamlined communication system. Paul Ainslie, chair of Toronto’s Government Management Committee, has emphasized the move during the recent meeting on November 30th. In response…

Notifications via Fax Blast Not Spam, rules US District Court

In a surprising move, the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted summary judgment to an insurance company this week after finding that their faxes were not in violation of TCPA law. The court ruled it did not matter if recipients actually responded or opened them – the defendant only notified insured…

Post on reddit /r/sysadmin: Fax – Why?

Post on reddit /r/sysadmin: Fax – Why?

Interesting responses to the “Fax – Why” question by multiple contributors on reddit: User HeadacheCentral says: The legal profession has a massive reluctance to move away from printed documents. HeadacheCentral User Giblet15 says: Fax is considered an acceptable medium to transmit information covered by HIPAA, email is not. Giblet15 User Serpentine-uk says: fax machines are…

Miami-Dade County Government: Deadline Approaching To Renew Golden Passport

[Background: Senior citizens and Social Security beneficiaries can ride Miami-DadeTransit free with a Golden Passport EASY Card. The application form is here: GOLDEN PASSPORT EASY CARD APPLICATION. The fax number is 305-375-1192]. 9 Nov 2021 Golden Passport EASY Cards may be renewed online, by mail, email, fax. https://patch.com/florida/miami/miami-dade-county-government-deadline-approaching-renew-golden-passport

The outdated machine hampering the fight against Covid-19

Major backlogs in processing patient data during the Covid-19 pandemic have called attention to a technology that continues to persist in various industries, including healthcare: the fax machine. In Austin, Texas, last June, the reporting and tracing of new Covid-19 cases became a challenge, in part due to an unanticipated issue with fax machines. As…

Japanese Hospitals File COVID cases by fax

Japanese Hospitals File COVID cases by fax

In a recent outpouring on social media, a respiratory medicine specialist in Japan expressed his frustration with the country’s legal requirement that hospitals complete paperwork on new coronavirus cases by hand and then fax it to public health centers. His tweet, stating “Come on, let’s stop this. Reporting cases in handwriting? Even with the coronavirus,…