At HIMSS 2025, Paul Banco, CEO of EtherFax, made a powerful statement, “75% of all medical communications in the U.S. are still transmitted by fax.”
In a world of EHRs, AI, and cloud-first strategies, that number might sound surprising, but it reflects a reality that healthcare IT leaders know well. Fax isn’t gone. It’s not even fading. It’s evolving.
At Lane, we’ve partnered with EtherFax to help healthcare organizations modernize the way they fax, securely, intelligently, and efficiently.
Why Fax Still Has a Stronghold in Healthcare
Despite digital transformation efforts, fax remains deeply embedded in clinical and administrative workflows. Here’s why:
Compliance and Signatures: Handwritten or scanned signatures on faxed documents still carry legal weight. Fax workflows offer a proven, HIPAA-compliant method to transmit PHI securely.
Workflow Familiarity: Providers, payers, and vendors are used to faxing. It’s part of the operational rhythm—and change can be disruptive without the right tools.
Interoperability Challenges: Many healthcare systems still struggle to fully integrate with outside platforms. Fax offers a simple, universal communication method.
As Paul Banco noted in the HIMSS video: “The challenge isn’t fax itself, it’s how we’ve been using it.”
From Legacy Machines to Intelligent Faxing
Modern faxing isn’t about phone lines and paper jams. It’s about cloud infrastructure, AI, and deep integrations. Here’s how Lane and EtherFax are helping healthcare organizations move forward:
Cloud-Based Faxing: No more hardware, fax boards, or analog phone lines. Lane uses EtherFax’s DirectFax utilizing Secure Exchange Network (SEN) to transmit documents digitally, quickly and securely.
Real-Time Delivery & Encryption: Documents are encrypted from end to end, ensuring HIPAA, ISO2700, HITRUST, SOC 2, and PCI DSS compliance. You get delivery confirmation, audit trails, and peace of mind.
AI-Powered Data Extraction: Faxed forms no longer mean manual entry. Our solutions use intelligent data extraction to pull structured data from documents and route them directly into EHRs or document management systems.
As Banco stated “With generative AI and machine learning, we’re transforming how data moves through healthcare. Fax just becomes the transport layer for real intelligence.”
Embedded in Your Existing Workflows
Lane combined with EtherFax faxing solutions are built to integrate seamlessly with the platforms healthcare teams already use, like Epic, Allscripts, Cerner, and Hyland OnBase. That means:
- No retraining
- No disruption
- Just faster, more secure, and more efficient workflows
Whether it’s patient intake, referrals, billing, or lab results, fax can still be the bridge, now backed by the intelligence and security modern healthcare demands.
What Healthcare Organizations Gain
With Lane and EtherFax, the benefits go beyond convenience:
- Operational Efficiency: Less manual work, faster turnaround, and fewer errors.
- Cost Savings: Eliminate telephony charges, hardware maintenance, and document storage.
- Data-Driven Care: Extract structured data from faxes to fuel analytics, billing, and reporting.
- Improved Patient Experience: Reduce delays in communication, referrals, and authorizations.
Lane + EtherFax: Future-Proof Fax
Our partnership with EtherFax means you don’t have to choose between legacy compliance and modern innovation, you get both. Together, we’re helping healthcare organizations. Let Lane show you how to take your fax processes from outdated to outstanding, with the power of EtherFax behind you. Watch EtherFax’s full message or contact us to schedule a demo and learn more.
