As much as communication technology has improved throughout the global marketplace, traditionally faxing is still being used in a number of verticals. The medical industry continues to rely on faxing to transfer orders from physicians to hospitals.

While this communication is important, it also has a number of problems. For many organizations, a move to enterprise Fax over IP can introduce efficiency while reducing errors.

The full-service, 221-bed Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in central Illinois was facing a struggle with trying to maintain efficiency in operations with outdated, manual processes.

Incoming physician orders for radiology, cardiology and surgical procedures were arriving on fax machines into a radiology department that was receiving as many as 110 orders per day. The papers could easily be misplaced and were stores in an overstuffed double filing cabinet.

According to Adam Young, Field Project Lead with the Information Systems Department, "When a patient reported to have an x-ray, we would have to find the order and enter information into the system at that time. Patients do not want to sit and wait in a hospital. It also didn't leave time for our employees to complete eligibility."

To tackle these challenges, BroMenn worked with Risetime, a Chicago-based solutions provider, to digitize and automate the management of physician orders with ECM solutions from Open Text and Microsoft (News - Alert). The hospital was also able to reduce billing days by scanning faxed medical information into a management application.

By going to a paperless, automated order management system, BroMenn was able to increase efficiency. To accomplish this, the hospital integrated the Open Tex Fax Server with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 for an optimal solution. Physicians can now fax orders into unchanged department fax numbers, making the solution transparent and allowing for a seamless transition.

With the new management fax solution in place, BroMenn is able to focus on its overall mission for exceptional patient care and the beast healthcare practices. Young noted: "What we've done with electronic orders and automated processes has made patients' time with us more productive. We're now able to provide the services patients need in a more efficient manner and with less hassle on the backend when the bill comes."

Patient service is also improved patient service. When a patient shows up for scheduled exams, the technician is ready to go as all work is completed ahead of time. With electronic faxing and online collaboration, the focus can be on taking care of the patient and not the paperwork.

At the same time, employee productivity has also been enhanced. When it is fully implemented, BroMenn anticipates the Open Text solution will improve order process to benefit 150 BroMenn employees and hundreds of physician offices.

Information on fax is available 24/7 with a simple search interface to all BroMenn departments. With the ability to send orders back to physicians within the hour instead of within the month, fast turnaround is now possible.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Erin Harrison