WHY IT'S TIME FOR THE CANADIAN HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY TO RETIRE FAX MACHINES

IF YOU'VE EVER DIALED THE WRONG phone number, you probably know that ear-piercing sound. The quick, monotone dialing followed by a high-pitched squeaky yet scratchy wail. The fax machine, once an essential piece of a physician's office equipment, revolutionized the speed at which documents, including prescriptions, could be shared. But that was the 1980s, or so you'd think.

Surprisingly, many organizations within the health care system still use this outdated method of communication. In an increasingly technological world, why are we still using this tool for information that is so important?

Axing the fax has become a major topic of discussion within the health care community, with many health care professionals calling for fax machines to be replaced by digital communication platforms. One simple step towards retiring the fax machine is to implement an electronic prescribing service, modern-izing prescribing for the digital age.

Canada's national e-prescribing service, PrescribeIT®, enables prescribers and pharmacists to create, receive, renew and cancel prescriptions digitally and securely. Many “early adopter” physicians and pharmacists are using PrescribeIT® across the country already. They have described a number of workflow efficiencies, and importantly, a positive impact on their patients.

Consider the example of a patient who has just received a prescription from their physician and arrives at the pharmacy. The pharmacist has a number of questions about the prescription, and needs to contact the physician. Currently, this communication is a complex web of faxed messages and phone tag. This inefficient process often takes much longer than it should and can be a great inconvenience to patients, and to clinicians. Using PrescribeIT®, the pharmacist can send a swift, secure electronic message to the physician, who can then respond directly to the pharmacist's question.

We have heard at least one anecdote from an early adopter physician, Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, about how this feature helped to avoid a potentially life-threatening drug interaction. PrescribeIT® has the potential to both improve clinician communication about your prescriptions and to enhance team-based care.

So, are Canadians ready to retire fax machines in health care? All signs are pointing to yes: patients and clinicians alike want to see us move forward, as most other industries did years ago.