Home Forums Discussions General Discussion Faxing prescriptions

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone is using any kind of faxing software to fax their prescriptions. I am in the process of searching and evaluating right now and I would love to hear what your solutions are. For a while I was printing the prescription out from the printer then faxing it out via a fax machine. However, I've come to realize there are faxing software out there that act like a "printer" which you could bypass that step completely. Here are a few that I've looked at:

MightyFax
SnappyFax 2000
VentaFax

Does anyone else have a solution?

Greetings:

We use brother network fax CN1940. 100% reliable. $130.00 bucks. No fee per station. I believe the ones you mentioned have perstation fee. This one I mentioned can paper fax too like old machines. Your workstation is not bogged down with memory usage with outgoing faxes.

My post about this issue:
http://www.emrupdate.com/forums/post/53917.aspx

We are using these- works great-

1. Pdf merger-
$30.00

http://www.adultpdf.com/products/pdfsplitmerge/index.html

You can also split the pdf documents on this.

2. Mirror your AC folder in program files to an external hard disk to take home or another computer on network to c drive to back up on real time- so even if your hard drive dies suddenly you can restore from real time mirror back up-
$40.00
http://www.techsoftpl.com/backup/
Choose do not mirror file delete option- once you mirror.


3. Ink your signature on reports, nursing home phone orders, your signature on incoming faxes to store into patient charts-
$25.00 on ebay- OEM CD. You can stamp your signature on any thing.
http://www.symantec.com/press/2000/n000228a.html

4. Get your faxes in pdf format- not 100% in my opinion- some seem to drop off if somebody is using the computer- get paper port 9, do not get 10 or 11, there seem to be some problems with higher versions.
$20.00 on ebay-OEM CD.
Then you use splitter mentioned on item 1 to split those labs to import AC.
http://store.mymicrosource.com/scpade90rcd.html

5. Cheapest network fax software and hardware- the best in my opinion- no fee per workstation (zetafax charges per work station)--

$130.00 staples after $20.00 rebate.
http://www.brother-usa.com/fax/fax_detail_AREA=FAX_1&PRODUCTID=FAX1940CN.aspx

Your computer does not get clogged with outgoing fax as this brother does the job.

6. Free best backup:
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
We use this with time and date stamp on a 250 gb external harddrive.


Hopefully this helps.

Regards--

AC user for more than 2 yrs

MightyFax, VentaFax and other PC-Fax software require a dial-up modem connected to a phone line. They wouldn't work with DSL or cable.

I have Brother MFC-7420 with PC-Fax function. It works fine with Amazing Charts. After updating a prescription, I select Preview Prescription - Fax, choose Brother PC-FAX, then select a fax number from address book and the prescription is faxed via my fax machine. It doesn't work on network unless you buy an extra network card for about $140.

Try www.RxNT.com

I use the stone-age basic fax printer that came with my windows XP PC. I select printing the Rx (usually all scripts on one page) then print, select the fax as the printer, that calls up the fax wizard, enter the pharmacy number. I usually do this without a cover page, but I can add one if more instructions are needed. I keep the pharmacy phone numbers in the Practice Rolodex, and usually just copy and paste the phone number in the wizard.

Sure, I'd love it if AC allowed me to select 'fax to pharmacy' instead of print and call up the phone number automatically, but my way consistently works, doesn't use any paper, and will keep redialing if the pharmacy is busy even while I have moved on to other tasks.

Oh, and it's easy to find help with it. And it's FREE.

A basic question that I can't figure out:
I have 8 computers linked peer-to-peer (one computer in each exam room and one for each personnel in my office). Do each computer need to be linked to a modem-phone line to FAX (i.e. 8 FAX phone numbers?) or can all FAXes be directed to one computer that is connected to a phone line.

Each computer has to have a fax/modem card connected to a phone line. You don't need to have 8 fax phone numbers, you could connect all of them to parralel lines under the same phone number. If you want to direct all faxes to one computer through your router, you would need to buy a network card, attach this card to your fax machine, and connect this network card directly to your router using ethernet cable (or wireless). Then you can send faxes from any computer to this network fax, and they will be faxed from your fax machine.

I'm kind of late joining this discussion but have you guys heard of UpDox and Onebox? Onebox is a unified messaging service that is very reasonably priced and functions as and asnwering/paging service, a voice line and fax line for the same phone number and will do email2fax, voice2email, email2voice, email2text, voice2text, lets you listen to voice messages from your email, reads your email to you over the phone, lets you view faxes from your email, internet faxout. Updox is a very cheap document handling software that lets you bundle various types of files, voice files, image files, pdf, word docs, faxes and lets you package into one and import into AC database already tagged with patient name. It also lets you print any document such as RX into its workspace and then directly faxout or email faxout to the pharmacy without saving or printing an intermediate copy. It's awesome. Updox integrates with AC and with Onebox. Check out UpDox.com and Onebox.com

I've got AC integrated with Updox. I don't have a fax machine, I don't have a phone line, I only have one laptop with Wi Fi. I can send notes and any type of document by fax or by email directly from my laptop without ever printing to paper and without even having to save a file intermediate and you can setup to have a copy of any outgoing docs to import directly to AC patiente record at the same time. Totally awesome and cheap, you gotta check it out and save yourselves all that pain.

Sounds exciting! I downloaded Updox and have a Onebox mail account. Learning how to use all of its functionality has been an obstacle. Perhaps, I'm not tech savvy, but would you mind explaining how Updox works?
1. Are your faxes transmitted electronically from your computer and then sent out through OneBox's computer modem?
2. Do you receive faxes by downloading from Onebox's server?
3. Are Faxes recieved in pdf or tif file format?
4. How does pharmacy send faxes to you if you do not have a fax number?
5. Why is there no need to save faxes you download or receive? Does one box keep a copy? or is it automatically retained on your hard drive?
6. How do you use Onebox as an answering service? A pager service? How would the hospital/ER/patient page you throug Updox/Onebox?
7. How cheap is it?

Very interested,
Roy

I also would like to know how much it costs.
Updox website says it only costs $5 a month.
Does it include receiving unlimited faxes in pdf format to a tall free number?
I have been using GotVMail as my answering service and to receive faxes.
The GotVMail answering service alone costs only $10 a month plus 7c per minute for incoming calls.
Receiving incoming faxes as pdf or png files to my mailbox costs additional $15 a month plus 7c per minutes for faxes received.
For now I only receive CT/xray reports to this virtual fax and keep it as my fax backup in case if something is wrong with my office fax machine. It doesn't send faxes out, so I use Brother network fax. If Updox allows to receive an unlimited number of faxes for only $5 a month, it's worth it.

Dudes! This is the answer to your prayers!

...OK, I agree, the websites are a little cumbersome as far as finding exactly what you need to know easily but they are working on it.

1) I have a OneBox Professional account, costs me $29.99/mo. For that cost I get a Toll Free phone number and a local phone number. Both numbers can receive fax and voice messages. I use one number as my “published fax” and the other as my “office line” so people don’t get confused. You also get a Onebox email account included.
2) When you get any kind of message, whether fax, voice mail or email, you can program your onebox account via the website to forward the message to your email or send you a text message on your phone that you have messages waiting or to page you on a pager number. It will also forward calls to any number you want, to multiple numbers simultaneously.
3) Example during business hours you can have calls forwarded to your office phone so a receptionist can answer and then after 5p you can set it to page you or directly route it to your cell phone or go directly to voicemail. Onebox will find you wherever you are, like the IRS.
4) When you get a voicemail it is stored as a .wav file that can be played by windows media or real player etc. You can retrieve VM the traditional way by phone and just listen OR you can set VM to get forwarded to your email address. Then you just open Outlook or Yahoo mail and play the .wav file right from there.
5) When you get a fax it is stored as a pdf. You can set it to forward faxes to your email and open the pdf right from there. Other fax machines cannot tell the difference between your onebox fax/voice number and another physical fax.
6) When you get an email, well that’s pretty easy. But get this, you can check your Onebox email from your cell phone. Dial in and press some options and a computer voice will read your email to you on the phone! Better yet, you can reply to the email on the cell phone. You talk into your phone and basically leave a voicemail that gets translated into text by magic software and then it is sent to the sender of the original email. Is that totally COOL! Oh don’t worry it gets better.
7) You can send faxes as emails through the website and upload files into your onebox email and then in the To: type fax#@faxout.onebox.com. Your email gets converted to a fax in their magic server. You can also send faxes through Updox which routes it through your onebox acct.
8) You can save the faxes and voice files if you want, at least the important ones. One box retains a copy for a while, maybe forever. Basically wherever you can get internet/email access you can retrieve you voicemails and faxes.
9) So for 29.99 you get 1000 minutes/mo. One page of fax counts as one minute, voice airtime counts off in minutes. Calls that go directly to voice mail is free and so are emails. Not bad for an answering service, fax service, email rolled all in one! There are more sophisticated plans for larger businesses for not that much more $$.
10) Oh yeah, Onebox is SSL encrypted so it’s secure and essentially HIPAA compliant. I do not know of another efax service except Send2fax that offers secure efaxing.

Ok Updox. Updox was made by people at Apractis Solutions. UpDox is a very powerful document handling program. Updox integrates with onebox and also integrates with an online database web office service called Webex (also a good product which is dirt cheap $12-$24/mo, and can basically give you an EMR and practice management solution even without Amazing Charts) and will integrate with your EMR, especially AC.

1) Updox basically ties together the functionalities of onebox and Webex and amplilfies its utility.
2) You configure Updox to your onebox email account, like you do with Outlook. You can configure it for multiple email accounts and it will consolidate all your emails if you have multiple.
3) Updox has a “virtual” workspace. You map the UPdox printer as if it was a realy printer. You can print documents into this work space, you can drag files of any type (Word, pdf, .wav voice file, image files of any type, faxes that you pull out of your onebox account) into this work space, you can create a sticky note memo and post it into this work space, you can take a screen shot off your desktop or off the internet and put it in the workspace. What do you do with all that you say? UpDox will roll all those documents up into 1 pdf that has embedded file attachments. Using Onebox, Updox can email that mega pdf to anyone, Updox will fax it, Updox will import it into your EMR and attach it to the appropriate patient record you choose.
4) Example, I’m doing a consult for pulmonary. I print my consult note into Updox, I access the online PACS at my hospital and load the chest xray image into Updox, I write a sticky memo in updox to the PMD saying “thank you here is my plan” and I load a fax of a lab result that I got in my onebox into Updox. I roll all that up with Updox, attach it to a patient record, import it into my Amazing Charts, Fax it to the referring doc and email it to the co-consulting cardiologist. I can do ALL that without ever printing to paper or even saving to an intermediate file. On the other end they get a PDF. Have to have Adobe 7.0 or higher to be able to open the embedded files.
5) You can “share” the Updox printer on a network via windows file sharing so that if you only have UpDox on one computer the other computers can “print” to it and then you can roll up the document and triage it out from that main computer.
6) Yes Updox is only $5/mo. Yes, that’s what I said.

The UpDox intranet is also very powerful and can be configured to be an EMR and is equally dirt cheap. Using this online intranet database I have made an online ICU sign out billing and charge capture system. I have also configured our online database so that we can write ICU consult/progress notes and store online. You can upload files to it as well and you can message out from the intranet using Onebox. We can request consults through the intranet/onebox service.

Yeah… so stop pinching yourself already because it’s all true! Apractis will work with you online to help you get set up or with any issues.

So for ~$50/mo I have an answering/paging service, online fax service, paperless web office with scheduling and office note documentation/EMR/billing all online. I kind of use the intranet as a back up to Amazing charts. Since I can’t access AC if I’m away from my office computer/laptop (like if I’m at a remote hospital), I just print my office note to a pdf file and load it into my web office database which I can then access online anytime anywhere. It’s a nice back up to AC.

Please note UpDox bug: If you have downloaded UpDox there is a bug in the "Install UpDox Printer Interface" utility. Don't let that discourage you though, it's not a big deal.

The automatic install doesn't work and I don't know if they have fixed it yet. You have to install the print interface manually via the Windows add printer Wizard. PDF instructions on the manual install are located in C:ProgramFiles/UpDox/ApractisInterface/UpDoxInterfaceInstall.pdf

Follow those instructions. Be sure you don't end up skipping the driver install by going too fast and clicking ok one too many times and skipping the last step. If you do, don't worry. You can go to "Printers and Scanners" right click on the Apractis Updox Interface Printer and click on the Print Processor button and then make sure you select the "ApractisvPRproc" Print Processor and the NT EMF option.

You should then be able to go to any document/window and print from the File menu and select the Apractis Updox interface and then your document should go right into UpDox.

I am using a Brother 7820N all in one that connects across the netowrk and after installing the PC-Fax software I can fax prescriptions through the network to the fax printer and it only needs the one phone line. I also scans and prints as well as receiving faxes. You can also save the faxes in TIF format taht can be accessed across the network. We delete the junk faxes and then save the other faxes to PDF and import to AC.

Greg Phillips

Greg and Maria,
Could the Brother 7820N software be setup to pc receive faxes then automatically print them to the Updox "printer"? I'm looking for a way to automatically import locally received faxes into Updox.

I don't want to change my fax number and I receive so many faxes I think having a local number - unlimited might be the cheapest. Besides onebox does not have a number local to my area.

Updox has quite the learning curve. I think I get it as far as what potential it has, but getting there is another adventure.