Used for everything from care coordination to referrals and insurance processing, faxing is a critical communication channel in healthcare. Yet the continued reliance on legacy fax systems presents significant financial, operational, and security challenges. Traditional fax machines and on-premise servers are not only outdated, they’re costly to maintain, difficult to scale, and prone to failures that can disrupt workflows and delay patient care.
Even with these issues, many healthcare organizations underestimate the true cost of maintaining legacy fax infrastructure. In addition to the capital expenditures required for hardware and maintenance, there are hidden costs tied to analog phone lines. The time spent resending failed faxes, resolving transmission errors, and handling physical documents also adds up quickly—taking valuable resources away from patients.
The True Cost of Legacy Faxing
Legacy fax systems come with a long list of recurring costs and operational inefficiencies. Beyond the upfront cost of fax machines, healthcare organizations face ongoing expenses for servicing, parts replacement, and IT support. Dedicated analog phone lines carry monthly fees, while paper and ink remain a constant drain on supply budgets.
These recurring costs aren’t small, either. According to a RecordPoint study, the average cost of operating and maintaining a single legacy system is $30 million. When expanded across the broader information technology (IT) landscape, at least $1.14 trillion is spent on maintaining existing IT investments—highlighting how outdated systems can quietly erode budgets at an alarming scale. Fax infrastructure often flies under the radar during digital transformation efforts, despite being a significant contributor to these costs.
More importantly, legacy systems and manual workflows expose organizations to substantial security risks. A report by Quocirca found that 60% of organizations have experienced a security incident related to traditional faxing. Faxes left in output trays, misdialed numbers, or unsecured fax rooms can result in data breaches that violate HIPAA and other regulations. Such breaches can lead to regulatory penalties, legal liabilities, and reputational damage.
Manual faxing processes also slow down operational efficiency. Staff must frequently intervene to troubleshoot fax errors, scan and file physical documents, or confirm receipt, all of which interrupt clinical workflows and delay communication between providers, payers, and patients. In a setting where speed and accuracy are critical, these inefficiencies are more than just a nuisance—they can directly impact the quality of care.
Comparing Infrastructure Costs
Cloud-based faxing eliminates the need for the costly components and processes related to traditional fax. By leveraging secure, virtualized infrastructure, cloud fax providers enable healthcare organizations to retire outdated hardware and analog lines. Fax capabilities are delivered as a service, allowing IT teams to offload maintenance responsibilities and reduce infrastructure spending. This shift lowers capital expenditures while offering more flexibility and scalability to meet changing business needs. According to Gartner, companies that switch to cloud-based digital fax solutions see up to 80% reductions in fax-related costs and 50% faster document processing times.
Enhancing Operational Efficiency with Cloud Faxing
Digitizing the fax process also leads to major gains in efficiency. Cloud-based faxing allows healthcare professionals to send, receive, and archive documents directly from existing clinical systems such as electronic health records (EHRs) or email platforms. This eliminates the need to print, scan, and manually distribute faxes—freeing up time and reducing the potential for human error.
Automated workflows further streamline communication. Incoming faxes can be routed based on document type, sender, or keywords, while outgoing faxes can be scheduled or sent in bulk. This level of automation reduces administrative workload, increases document accuracy, and improves overall staff productivity. In many cases, organizations experience faster document turnaround times and a significant reduction in fax-related errors and delays.
Security and Compliance Advantages
Security is another key differentiator between legacy and cloud-based fax solutions. Modern cloud fax providers employ advanced encryption and rigorous security protocols to protect sensitive data both in transit and at rest. Many are certified under compliance frameworks such as HIPAA, HITRUST, and SOC 2, ensuring that patient information is handled with the highest standards of privacy and protection.
Unlike traditional fax machines, which are susceptible to physical breaches or misrouted transmissions, cloud-based systems offer audit trails, access controls, and secure storage—all of which help healthcare organizations meet regulatory requirements and avoid costly data incidents. The added transparency and traceability of digital faxing also support internal compliance and risk management efforts.
Implementation and ROI Assessment
Transitioning from legacy fax to a cloud-based solution may seem like a large undertaking, but when partnered with the right cloud fax provider, it can be a seamless process. An ideal cloud fax provider will offer a simple, scalable implementation that integrates with existing workflows and systems without disruption. As there’s no need to install new hardware or phone lines, the switch to cloud faxing can happen with minimal changes to day-to-day operations. Best of all, organizations typically begin seeing cost savings and productivity improvements almost immediately after deployment.
To accurately assess the return on investment (ROI) of switching to cloud faxing, healthcare organizations should evaluate both direct and indirect costs. These include existing expenses for analog lines, maintenance, consumables, and staff time, as well as potential costs related to failed faxes, downtime, or security incidents. Comparing these against the predictable, subscription-based pricing of cloud fax services reveals substantial savings over time.
Beyond cost savings, digital faxing also contributes to broader organizational goals. It supports sustainability by reducing paper usage and energy consumption, and it provides the scalability required to accommodate organization growth, mergers, and evolving care delivery models.
A Strategic Shift for the Future
Overall, the move to cloud-based faxing is more than just a technical upgrade—it represents a strategic investment in security, efficiency, and long-term resilience. By modernizing fax infrastructure, healthcare organizations can improve document workflows, strengthen data protection, and align their communication strategies with the demands of a digital-first healthcare system.
Paul Banco
As CEO and co-founder of ETHERFAX, Paul Banco is responsible for the strategic direction of the company, driving its mission to innovate and lead in secure document delivery technology. He oversees technology development, including the patented ETHERFAX and ETHERFAX SEN intellectual property. With a background in automating fax server operations for various organizations, Paul has been instrumental in advancing cloud-based solutions.
Recognizing the potential of the cloud for secure document transmission, Paul co-founded ETHERFAX in 2009 alongside other telecom industry veterans, aiming to transform traditional fax systems and enhance efficiency in document management.
