When Referring Practices Still Send Paper Faxes

Your clinic may review referrals digitally while a referring office sends from a fax machine. Those workflows can work together: the sender faxes to your number, and your team opens the received document in Fax.Plus.

You do not need every referring practice to adopt the same software before changing how your own team receives documents. The practical bridge is a clear receiving number, a readable packet and a way to resolve anything missing.

Give the referring office one clear destination

Share the fax number intended for referrals, including the country and area code where needed. Label it clearly on your referral instructions so staff can distinguish it from your telephone number or another department's line.

Tell the referring office which documents and reference information your intake process requires. Include an appropriate contact route for questions about an incomplete or unclear submission. Use your organization's approved approach to identifying the patient and request.

The referring office can keep using its fax machine. It needs your fax number, not a login to your Fax.Plus account.

Receive digitally on your side

With a receiving Fax.Plus number, incoming documents become available in the Inbox for authorized users. Reception requires an active paid plan and sufficient receiving allowance. For HIPAA workflows, confirm Enterprise, Advanced Security Controls and a signed BAA as part of your healthcare fax account requirements.

Open the received fax to review its pages. If your approved records process requires a local copy, the Help Center explains saving received referral faxes.

If the next destination is an EHR, use the separate checks for following a fax through to its EHR destination.

The change is on your receiving side: staff can review the fax on screen without requiring the referring office to replace its sending equipment.

Check the pages before continuing

Compare the received packet with your intake requirements. Check that the pages belong together, appear complete and are readable where staff need to use the information.

For example, a cover page may indicate an attachment that is not present, or a scanned form may have a section cut off. Identify the specific issue before asking the referring office to resend. Administrative checks help prepare the packet for the appropriate reviewer; clinical interpretation follows your organization's process.

Digital reception does not reconstruct information missing from the source pages. If a detail cannot be read, ask for a clearer copy rather than guessing.

Request the missing page, then match the return

Tell the referring office which page or document needs attention and how to identify its response. Where appropriate, request the specific missing item rather than another copy of the entire packet.

When the return arrives, match it to the original referral and confirm that it addresses the request. Make clear whether the new page supplements or replaces an earlier version. For the team's next action, use the agreed referral handoff responsibilities.

Fax remains the connection between the two offices. Your team can organize the receiving workflow digitally while referrers continue using the equipment that fits their practice. Explore receiving referrals with Fax.Plus alongside your intake and access requirements.

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