Most have cover letters with warnings

In response to your article, “Faxed medical records go astray,” I work in a health-care facility and I am responsible for much of the faxing of protected patient information. Before HIPAA went into effect in April, I spent quite a bit of time preparing my office for compliance. One of the challenges I faced was ensuring that patient confidentiality was maintained over the fax machine. I called a local attorney’s office as well as other health-care facilities and asked for copies of their fax cover sheets. I also consulted with a company that sells HIPAA-compliant products.

My office now has a fax cover sheet with a lengthy statement that says in part: “Warning: This fax may include information that is confidential. The information is intended for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed.” It further states that use of the facsimile by someone other than the recipient is “strictly prohibited” and gives directions of what to do with the fax if received in error.

I would imagine that Providence Everett Medical Center has a similar statement on their fax cover sheet. I just wonder why it took Mike Dosskey reading about the patient’s “bowel movements” before he stopped reading the wrongfully sent fax.

Marysville