What does HIPAA say about faxes?
The fax machine must be in a secure area if incoming or outgoing messages could contain PHI. Faxes are not HIPAA transactions, so there is no standard for faxes. (There are standards only for these electronic transactions: submitting claims and getting your RAs, checking eligibility, checking claim status, and requesting prior authorization.) However, faxes are written communication, and HIPAA protects PHI in any medium. Develop appropriate physical safeguards for that information. If you have faxes or anything similar that contains PHI, set aside an area where only authorized personnel have access.
