If you have documents to send via fax, chances are you’re looking for fax services in your area. This blog article answers the questions, “Where can I send a fax?” and “Where can I fax for free near me?”. You’ll also see a cost comparison of physical fax services vs an online fax provider like eFax.

Looking for Places With Fax Machine Nearby? Do it Online, With No Fax Machine.

“Where can I go to fax something?” – It’s a question you might’ve asked yourself.

Fax machines might have been more common ten years ago, but that doesn’t mean that office employees were any more excited to use them. In fact, these complicated machines have always had a reputation for being tricky to use, not to mention expensive. Today, using a fax machine turns what should be a quick and easy task into a complicated and inefficient process. And it does little to protect your personal data or offer any means of storing it.

Business owners operating in industries that still rely on faxes have two options today: spend a small fortune on their own fax machine or search online for “fax services near me.”

Unfortunately, neither option is a clear winner. Purchasing your own fax machine means navigating using it, running the risk of mistakes and dealing with repairs. Similarly, outsourcing your fax services also slows down the process and can still lead to mistakes.

When you need to send documents quickly, without breaking your budget or risking mistakes, you need a different solution. Sending a fax online offers all of this and more, like the ability to help your team stay organized or the chance to send faxes from anywhere, at any time.

Struggling to Find a Reliable Fax Service Near You?

Tired of spending hours searching “Where can I send a fax near me?” eFax is here to help. No more shopping for fax machines or dealing with repairs. And no more searching for local fax companies near you, paying sky-high fees and navigating changing hours and delays. Now, you can send a fax online in just minutes.

5 Steps to Send a Fax Online From a Desktop or Mobile Device

Frustrated and wondering, “Why are there no places that fax near me?” Well, the simplest solution is to just send it online.

Sending a fax online is easier than you might think—and far easier than messing with an old-fashioned fax machine. As long as you have a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone and access to the internet, you can send a fax from anywhere, any time, day or night, using digital faxing services like eFax. Simply follow these steps.

1. Create Your Own eFax Account

Before you can send/receive fax documents online, you need an account. Luckily, creating your own eFax account takes just minutes! Follow the three simple steps here and get started.

2. Open the eFax portal or Download the App

After creating your account, you need to decide how you’ll access eFax. You can do so through the Online Portal on a desktop computer or laptop. Or, you can download the eFax tablet app or mobile app on your tablet or mobile device. This app is available from the Apple Store and from the Google Play Store.

3. Log in to Your Account

Once you’ve downloaded the app or accessed the portal, use the account information you created to log in. Now you’re ready to start sending faxes!

4. Find “Send Faxes,” Click and Fill in the Form

After logging in, click “Send Faxes.” From there, you can pick an address from the address book that you provided. Add a personalized message and attach a photo of the document that you’d like to send. Then, fax it to your recipient in just a few clicks.

5. Send and Receive Your Faxes on Any Device

Still searching “Where can I fax for free near me?” Well, you’re in luck! With eFax, you get free online storage, as well as a number of other features included in your plan. No more navigating overly complicated fax machines or searching for fax services and dealing with high fees and limited hours. Now, you can save time and money and send faxes hassle-free from anywhere!

Where To Fax Near Me? Do It Online, With No Fax Machine

Physical fax machines are bulky and costly to maintain and keep stocked with paper, toner, and ink. Additionally, remote employees may want to avoid coming into the office just to send a fax machine to a contact.

Online fax services, such as eFax, enable employees to send faxes online anytime and anywhere. eFax’s online solution enables employees to send faxes on any device, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets. It provides a digital fax machine service, allowing users to send faxes electronically without requiring a fax machine to send or receive messages.

The eFax service doesn’t require specialist equipment or advanced tech skills to send faxes without a fax machine. eFax provides a new fax number, or you can use an existing one.

Where Can I Find Fax Services Near Me?

If you’re wondering ‘where can I fax something?’ then there are many options to send fax messages. Some of the local places near you that could offer fax machine services are:

1. Local Libraries

Some local libraries have fax machines that the public can use to send faxes. However, fax messages can only be sent to toll-free or local fax numbers, and these machines can’t be used to receive a fax.

2. Post Offices

Some post offices near your location can also have fax machines that customers can use to send fax messages for a small fee. The cost will likely depend on the provider and the type of fax being sent.

3. Office Supply Stores

Office supply retailers, such as Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples, offer faxing services for a small fee. They have a fax machine from which customers can send a fax message. The cost will depend on the type of fax message sent and the number of pages faxed.

4. Banks and Credit Unions

Your local bank or credit union may also enable you to send a fax from the institution. Some banks may provide the service free of charge or on behalf of their clients, but some may not offer this service to the general public.

5. Logistics and Shipping Providers

Another fax near me option is to visit a major logistics or shipping provider. The likes of FedEx, Post Annex, and UPS often allow customers to send fax messages to manage their business requirements.

6. Airport and Hotel Business Centers 

Travelers thinking ‘Where can I send a fax near me?’ can look to institutions that operate business centers, such as airports, convention centers, and hotels. These buildings may have fax machines that people can use to send faxes and typically charge per page faxed.

7. Internet Cafes

A common option for sending a fax on the go is an internet cafe. Many internet cafes in big cities will have a fax machine that provides a simple solution for quickly sending a fax message.

8. Other High Street Stores

High-street stores like pharmacies and travel providers may often have fax machines that customers can use to send fax messages. These local stores are likely to charge a fee to send a fax.

Send Online Faxes From Anywhere, Anytime

eFax simplifies the process of sending and receiving faxes. You’ll save time, money and hassle and gain the ability to send and receive faxes from anywhere, at any time. Get started today to see just how convenient this service can be. If you’re still on the fence, check out these reviews from real customers.

Send and receive faxes in minutes. Start faxing now.

Before the invention of the Internet, businesses and individuals used facsimile machines to quickly and securely send documents to their clients, colleagues, friends and family members in different locations. So if you’ve ever questioned “what is faxing” or “what is a fax,” here’s your answer – fax machines scan information on a piece of paper and digitally transmit it via a telephone line to the fax machine of a user’s contact. 

Fax machines were a common sight and sound in offices worldwide through the 1980s and 1990s. But, as the Internet took over, it became much more practical for people to share information electronically from their laptop, PC or mobile phone, rather than going into the office to use the corporate fax machine.

Many businesses, especially those in highly regulated industries, aren’t wondering “what does fax mean,” as it remains critical to sending and receiving sensitive information. However, it’s now more convenient, cost-efficient and secure to share fax messages via the Internet through online faxing services like eFax.

Fax Definition and Meaning

Fax, short for facsimile and also known as telecopying, is a form of communication that involves scanning and transmitting printed documents from one machine to another. Faxing a document traditionally involves fax messages being sent from a telephone number associated with a fax machine, printer or other electronic device. In the modern world, fax technology operates digitally without physical paper or printers.

Fax systems are often used when businesses need to share documents quickly and securely. Fax technology works by enabling people to instantly send data over long distances, saving time and money compared to other communication methods. The systems use fax numbers, which offer security as each document receives a code that ensures only authorized recipients can access their contents.

Fax technology has grown in popularity recently, enabling people to send large files and multiple documents simultaneously. This is ideal for organizations that distribute vast quantities of information via computers and smartphones.

How Do Faxes Work?

Now that we’ve covered what a fax is, let’s talk about how faxing works. In short, a fax is a digital image of a document or file that is transmitted either over a traditional fax network or via the internet in the case of online faxing. In both cases, you’re taking a document, converting it to an image and sending it to a specific recipient. 

That recipient is defined by their fax number, and a fax number is still used in internet faxing to make sure faxes are transmitted securely and reliably to their intended receiver. 

Traditional fax machines worked by scanning a document, which transforms the original text and images into a single fixed graphic image and converts it into a bitmap. Now in digital form, the data can be transmitted to another fax machine through electrical signals over the public switched telephone network (PSTN). At the other end, the receiving fax machine converts the digital version of the data to print a copy of it.

The encoded bit stream is submitted to a modem that transmits it to the telephone network. The transmitting and receiving fax machines then exchange signals to establish features like modem speed, printing resolution and source code. Page information is transmitted and followed by a signal that informs all pages have been sent and the calling machine can disconnect the line. The receiving machine then demodulates, decodes and stores the signal to release it to the printer. 

The age of internet fax solutions like eFax has simplified this process by eliminating the need for a physical fax machine, fax paper, fax toner or physical phone lines for your fax. Digital faxes allow you to attach your document directly to your fax using your chosen internet fax provider. Those files are then sent to a fax number, where they can be printed out on a traditional fax machine or retrieved from the recipient’s own digital fax app or portal. 

Breaking Down the Technical Specs and Capabilities

Fax jargon includes a lot of numbers and terms you might not be familiar with. Many of these have been made redundant by internet fax solutions, which don’t rely on analogue machines or PSTN lines to transmit data. This makes digital faxes more capable. Let’s quickly look at some common specs and capabilities of fax machines: 

• Baud Rate, AKA Data Transmission Rate: Analogue faxes had varying speeds from 9,600 bits per second or BTS to 33,600. This means it could take anywhere from a few seconds to over a minute to send a fax. Digital faxes sent through the internet transmit at the speed of your digital connection, so they are much faster. 
• Resolution: Image resolution could be as low as 200 dots per inch (DPI) on an older analogue fax to about 400 DPI. Internet fax documents send at much higher resolutions because they’re not limited by the fax machine capability. This leads to clearer text and images, saving miscommunication and helping improve readability. 
• Printing Process: Analogue fax machines may use thermal paper, while modern multi-function device (MFD) fax machines often use inkjet or laser printing. Digital faxes do away with this need as you can read and send faxes without using paper. 

How Fax Systems Have Evolved Over Time

Have you ever wondered when the was fax machine invented? While Xerox produced the telephone fax machine first in the 1960s, the fax definition has its roots in the electric printing telegraph invented by Alexander Bain in 1843, which simulated a two-dimensional image on paper to extend the capabilities of the telegraph. Fax technology developed rapidly over the next century, including the RCA which invented the Radiophoto, which used radio waves rather than telephone lines to transmit information, in 1924. It became standard business equipment by the late 1970s, and a copy and scan function was added in the 1980s.

Early fax technology operated a manual process that relied on voice confirmation and only allowed users to send one page at a time. But in 1966, Xerox’s Magnafax Telecopier became the first commercial fax machine. It enabled higher-quality printing and was smaller, lighter and more affordable. Later, fax systems used digital technology to enhance flexibility and remove the need for specialist paper types. 

Modern fax machines use laser technology, the Internet and energy-saving features to maximize performance. Internet-based fax systems were introduced in 2010 to enable paperless faxing, allowing users to send documents quickly and securely from home. 

The age of internet faxing freed faxes from clunky machines, paper, toner and fax lines, and took faxing online. Since then, digital faxing has evolved to add important features like e-signatures and editing. It has also developed to meet modern privacy and data protection laws like HIPAA and GDPR. 

Fax encryption has evolved, too, with many internet fax solutions using state-of-the-art  256-bit AES and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption. This protects documents from the wrong hands and allows the medical, legal, financial and other sensitive industries to use digital faxes safely. 

Faxing has also transitioned to the mobile age, with internet fax apps and web-based portals providing access to faxing anytime, anywhere, from any internet-connected device. Cloud-based document storage has improved document management and allowed people to sort and label faxes for easy record-keeping and reuse.

Modern faxing requires modern solutions, including secure servers, encryption and better access, so organizations can function reliably and efficiently.

Different Types of Faxing

There are two main types of faxing. Digital faxes are sent and received with an internet-based computer program or app. Analog faxes use a phone line and a physical fax machine to copy and print out a document.

Digital Fax

You can send faxes digitally from an internet-connected computer, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. First, sign up for an online faxing account using a digital fax service like eFax. Then, you can add recipients, upload documents, add your fax number and send faxes.  

Analog Fax

Analog fax is typically used in doctor’s offices and schools. It is a large machine connected to a dedicated phone line that prints out physical copies of an original document. Analog faxes use paper, ink, toner, and a landline to send and receive documents.

Common Ways to Send and Receive Faxes

There are many ways to send and receive faxes in the digital age. Here are some of the common fax terms you might encounter while sending faxes and what they mean.

• Internet fax/digital fax/online fax/virtual fax: These are all general terms for sending faxes over the internet instead of using a fax machine and phone line. To send a digital fax, you use a computer or mobile app to upload and send the document, which is converted into a digital format and transmitted online.
• Cloud fax: This is a specific type of online fax service in which your faxes are stored and managed in the cloud (remote servers). You can access them from any device with an internet connection.
• Email fax: This service lets you send faxes by attaching the document to an email and sending it to a special address provided by the fax service. The recipient receives the fax electronically.
• Paperless fax: This emphasizes that these faxing methods don’t involve any paper. You send and receive documents electronically.

These are all ways to send and receive faxes electronically, eliminating the need for a traditional fax machine and phone line.

What is a Fax Number?

A fax number is a dedicated phone number that enables users to send messages to other devices and digital solutions. Fax numbers work similarly to phone numbers, using audible tones to transfer documents. However, the sender also receives a tone response when they dial a fax number.

A fax number enables users to send and receive documents both locally and internationally. Most fax numbers have ten digits, depending on the recipient’s location and area code, and some fax machines have phone lines to test connectivity and make phone calls. Fax numbers enable users to securely share data like personal health information or documents containing personally identifiable information (PII). They help businesses communicate efficiently and manage their electronic files more easily.

A fax number is formed using the country and area code, as well as a three-digit prefix and then four additional digits. For example, a user in New York’s fax number would contain the country code +1, the area code 917 and the number 1234567.

4 Benefits of a Fax Communication System

Modern digital fax systems offer significant benefits for companies across all industries. They enable fax-to-print solutions, removing the need to rely on physical paper copies of critical documents or information and reducing the risk of data being lost or stolen. Some benefits of communicating via online fax include:

Cost Reduction

Sending faxes can rack up significant costs, from maintaining fax machines and stocking up on paper, ink and toner to purchasing dedicated phone lines. Online faxing removes the need to acquire physical machines and companies can buy toll-free fax numbers.

Secure Communication

Online fax systems use encryption to ensure faxed documents aren’t damaged, modified or stolen during transmission. Faxing helps reduce the chances of a security breach by using point-to-point fixed connections.

Environmentally Friendly

Using digital transmissions rather than paper copies helps organizations reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining regular communication with clients and colleagues worldwide. 

Document Management

Online fax systems allow companies to gain instant confirmation of when faxed documents are sent and received. They also enable fax tracking, ensuring users can manage message trails and guarantee sensitive data is protected and delivered safely, which is more challenging to ensure through email or physical mail.

4 Modern Uses of Fax Machines

Fax remains a popular form of digital communication across various industries. Uses of fax in the modern business world include:

Sending and Receiving Files

The most obvious use of fax in modern business is for users to share files with clients and colleagues. For example, fax is helpful for quickly signing and sharing documents that require a physical signature without having to download additional e-signature apps. Additionally, faxed documents are official records that can be used as legal evidence.

Sharing Confidential Data

Sharing information via online fax offers a more secure way to share confidential data than other communication methods like email and instant chat. Fax messages are transmitted via analog phone lines rather than through the Internet, which hackers can use to intercept data, and modern systems use security features like encryption and password protection. So sending data through fax makes it less susceptible to common hacking methods and helps to ensure only authorized recipients can access documents.

Sending Large Files

Fax communication helps send large files that may get blocked by email providers. Fax systems are designed to process large files over telephone lines, so organizations don’t have to use online file-sharing services.

Data Backup

Network blackouts could prevent companies from sending and receiving important documents. But fax machines can operate during blackouts if connected to generators or backup power sources. So companies that rely on around-the-clock communication can use fax to maintain contact with clients and customers.

How Faxing Simplifies and Streamlines Communication in Different Industries?

Fax communication remains widely used in critical industries and businesses operating in areas with poor internet connectivity. Industries that still rely on fax communication include:

Financial Services

Banks and insurance firms rely on fax to share documents that require a signature and other verification methods. Financial agreements and loan applications often require people to sign them physically, so faxing ensures this information can be signed and shared with ease.

Healthcare

Healthcare providers rely on fax technology to share sensitive medical information like patient records and prescriptions. The communication method is crucial to quickly sharing critical data without the risk of hacking.

Legal

Faxes are widely used across legal firms and courts and government agencies. For example, some agencies and courts, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), require companies to use fax to transmit sensitive documents like emergency motions, legal filings and tax forms.

Real Estate

Real estate firms widely use fax to share purchase agreements and other documents related to critical transactions. The industry uses fax to ensure all parties involved in property sales are on the same page and can easily share inspection reports, loan documents, property disclosures and more.

The Future of Fax: Adapting to a Digital World

The meaning of fax has evolved rapidly as the world shifts to digital communication, making sending data via fax quicker, more secure and more accessible. Looking to the future, new capabilities like cloud and application programming interface (API) integrations will help to build fax technology into evolving corporate workflows. This will help businesses to rely on fax as they develop new ways of working while ensuring confidential data remains protected. 

Why Choose eFax for Your Faxing Needs? 

eFax is an online fax solution that enables businesses worldwide to reap the simplicity and security benefits of online faxing. The fax technology allows companies in critical industries that rely on fax to utilize a modern solution for sending and receiving documents online. Faxing online with eFax offers greater convenience, simplicity, and versatility over purchasing and maintaining bulky and costly fax machines. With eFax, employees no longer have to visit the office to fax critical documents; they can fax clients and customers from anywhere, anytime and on any device.

Secure HIPAA Compliant Fax Service for Healthcare

Since 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule has been protecting patients’ personal information and giving them greater control over who has access to their medical records. For medical professionals, the rule has far-reaching implications. It governs how information about patients is collected, stored and even how it is shared with other medical professionals, as well as insurance companies and other parties. Sending sensitive patient information isn’t quite as simple as shooting an email; instead, medical professionals and clinics must make sure that their methods of sharing this information are secure. 

This means that emails sent by medical outlets must be secure. When medical professionals call a patient, they need to have a plan in place to check that they are truly speaking to their patient, or they need to have permission to talk to a family member or care provider. 

But what about sending patient information via fax?

Just as with phone or email communication, HIPAA-compliant faxing focuses on ensuring that information is being shared to the right source and that it’s being shared securely. Faxing can be a convenient way to send patient files, lab results and more — but only if you do so in a HIPAA-complaint way. Keep reading to learn the HIPAA rules surrounding faxing, what you need to know to send a secure fax and how to choose the best HIPAA-compliant online fax service.

What are HIPAA Fax Rules?

The HIPAA Privacy Rule covers all forms of communication, including HIPAA fax transmission requirements. This includes written communications, phone, email and fax communications. 

So how does HIPAA compliant faxing relate to security? HIPAA rules surrounding faxing largely focus on ensuring that the fax is being sent to the correct location and that it is protected if it winds up in the wrong hands.

In addition to taking precautions to make sure that the fax goes to the right place, healthcare offices also need to take one extra step in case the fax does wind up in the wrong hands. A HIPAA compliant fax cover sheet does not contain sensitive patient information and does include information about who the fax should be going to. That way, if someone else receives it, they can send it to the correct location.

How to Send a HIPAA-Compliant Fax?

Let’s take a closer look at what it means to send a HIPAA-compliant fax on a traditional machine or using an online fax service.

Say that a medical testing lab wants to send a patient’s test results to their primary care physician. HIPAA rules require that the lab take precautions to ensure that the faxed results go to the correct fax number. How they go about putting safeguards in place can vary. The lab may choose to verify that they are using the correct fax number each time. This may mean having a lab technician or other employee contact the office of the primary care physician that the fax needs to be sent to confirm the number. 

However, if that lab frequently faxes records to that physician’s clinic, this may be too time-consuming. Instead, they could choose to pre-program frequently used numbers into their fax machine or online fax system. This pre-program system acts as a safeguard that decreases the risk of a fax being sent to the wrong location. Before they hit send on the fax, healthcare offices also need to attach a HIPAA complaint cover sheet that clarifies the intended recipient. This is designed to deter someone else from looking at the information. However, this method isn’t foolproof when using a traditional fax machine.

The best HIPAA-compliant online fax service is one that simplifies the process of sending secure faxes. It allows the healthcare office to ensure that they are meeting privacy rules without increasing their employee workload by making choosing a recipient easy. Also, it allows the office to quickly create HIPAA compliant cover sheets, even though these cover sheets are less necessary with online faxes, as the fax is sent directly to the recipient’s inbox. eFax Protect ensures data confidentiality and integrity, with encryption protocols preventing unauthorized access during transmission.

Is Faxing HIPAA Compliant?

Utilizing HIPAA fax services ensures compliance, as standard faxes sent by most offices are not. To make your fax HIPAA compliant, you must show that you’ve taken precautions to ensure it is going to the correct location.

If you’re using an online fax service, your service will need to be encrypted. In addition to a secure faxing solution, you’ll also need a HIPAA-compliant fax cover sheet.

So do you need a HIPAA-compliant fax machine? Not necessarily. However,  traditional fax machines make it easy to make mistakes when entering the fax number of your recipient. Faxes may also sit on the machine of the recipient for some time. Anyone walking by can pick up the fax, breaking HIPAA rules and exposing patient information.

You might also like: HIPAA Compliant VoIP

Are Online Fax Services HIPAA Compliant?

If your healthcare office is still relying on a traditional fax machine, you could be putting your patients’ sensitive information at risk—and your office at risk of a lawsuit for breaking HIPAA privacy rules. You may ask: “So how do I get a HIPAA compliant fax machine?” The answer may be to skip the machine altogether and make the move to online faxing. Not only can this make it easier to ensure compliance, but it’s also the cheapest HIPAA-compliant fax service available today because you won’t need to worry about investing in a machine or the maintenance that goes with it.

But is online fax HIPAA compliant? Much like traditional fax machines, this depends on the specific online fax service that you choose, and how you use it. Modern online fax solutions make it easier to meet—or exceed—HIPAA privacy rules. Your faxes go directly to the recipient’s email inbox. With the best online fax service for medical practices, you can send encrypted faxes, quickly check that they are going to the right recipient, and attach a HIPAA-compliant cover sheet. Because your fax goes directly to the recipient’s inbox, you won’t have to worry about the wrong eyes landing on your fax.

Is HIPAA Faxing Safe for Highly-Sensitive Documents?

Is fax secure for sensitive data? This depends on the type of fax you use and the precautions you take when sending your fax. If you’re meeting the necessary HIPAA requirements for encrypted file sharing, and your faxing solution is secure, then faxing is a safe, effective and fast way to send and receive even highly sensitive documents.

However, if you’re still using a traditional fax machine or are using an online fax service that isn’t secured, you should avoid sending sensitive documents. These could wind up in the wrong hands, exposing your patient’s information and putting your healthcare office at risk of a lawsuit for failing to protect your patients.

eFax: Efficient HIPAA Compliant Fax Services

Introducing eFax Protect, a highly encrypted secure online fax solution that allows heavily regulated industries to gain HIPAA Compliance with signed Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) for enhanced protection of their sensitive data. By utilizing signed BAAs, eFax Protect helps you maintain the confidentiality and integrity of data, while encryption protocols safeguard unauthorized access during transmission.

Healthcare professionals depend on fax everyday to send and receive documents. eFax Protect ensures they have the security and compliance they need when faxing medical documents from our iOS and Android mobile apps, our eFax Messenger tool, and our MyPortal web app.

• Enhance the security of your fax communications and maintain compliance with applicable requirements under HIPAA, GLBA and SOX.
  
• Utilize AES 256-bit encryption to ensure data remains secure and protected from unauthorized access during transmission.
  
• Audit Trails provide tracking and monitor fax activities to ensure transparency and accountability. 

Is a Cloud Fax HIPAA Secure and Reliable?

Not only is the eFax Protect online faxing solution an easy way to meet HIPAA privacy rules, but it’s also secure and reliable. eFax Protect utilizes encryption protocols so you can transmit documents safely while ensuring that the privacy of your sensitive information remains confidential and protected from unauthorized access during transmission.

While not all email to fax is HIPAA compliant, eFax Protect is. Whether you’re still using a traditional fax machine or have made the move to online faxing, you need a solution that goes above HIPAA compliance with secure, reliable cloud faxing.

Is There a Cloud Faxing Solution for Healthcare Providers?

If you’ve been on the hunt for a HIPAA-compliant fax app for iPhone, Android, or for use on your desktop, eFax Protect is the solution. Our safe and secure cloud faxing solution allows healthcare offices of all shapes and sizes to send patient information, records, test results and more with ease. Add a HIPAA compliant fax cover sheet, choose your recipient and send your fax directly to the recipient without worrying about it landing in the wrong hands. 

If you’re a healthcare provider looking to protect your patients’ sensitive information and meet the HIPAA Privacy Rules, we can help. Start your free trial with one of the best HIPAA-compliant digital online fax solutions available today!

Frequently Asked Questions Around HIPAA Fax Services

Is eFax Protect safe for HIPAA?

Yes, eFax Protect is safe and complies with HIPAA regulations.

HIPAA allows for data-sharing, but only between certain stakeholders. Any wrong step — like using a non-secure file-sharing platform — can make data available to unintended recipients and even bad actors. And unfortunately, many typical methods companies use to share information are not as safe as they seem. This is especially true as hackers continually improve their tactics.

Healthcare organizations need a tamper-proof way to share sensitive patient information — and eFax provides just that. 

eFax Protect uses military-grade encryption to ensure no one can intercept the data while in transit. It doesn’t matter if your team faxes from their desktop, mobile device or laptop — the AES 256-bit encryption protects the information to help your organization remain HIPAA compliant. 

What is the HIPAA-compliant way to send a fax?

Technically, traditional machine faxing can be HIPAA-compliant because it offers point-to-point data protection. The issue may arise when the fax prints out at the recipient’s machine, though. Healthcare organizations must ensure they are sending the document to the right recipient and include a cover letter explaining who the information is for in case it ends up in the wrong hands. 

However, even with these precautions, traditional faxing isn’t foolproof. Documents can easily end up with the wrong people, especially if they’re left forgotten at fax machines. And if the wrong person accesses the information, the file-sharing process is no longer HIPAA-compliant. 

A better solution is eFax. It offers consistently safe and HIPAA-compliant file-sharing processes, thanks to the AES 256-bit encryption. You no longer have to worry about whether your faxes are going to the right place or if someone has accidentally intercepted them. By using eFax, you know exactly where your information is going — and that the data is completely protected in transit.  

Is fax to email HIPAA-compliant?

Email itself is not HIPAA-compliant. When you send a standard email, it travels in plain text from your mail server to your recipient’s. That means anyone can intercept the email during transit, including when it’s left unread in the recipient’s inbox. 

However, fax via email can be HIPAA-compliant if you use a service like eFax Protect. 

eFax Protect employs military-grade encryption to ensure your documents have the ultimate protection throughout transit. Instead of traveling in plain text, the information on the emailed fax gets jumbled until the recipient opens the email. That means anyone who tries to hack or intercept the email will only see an incomprehensible set of characters — one that’s almost impossible to decrypt.