Fax a doctor's office from your phone

Clinics still ask patients to fax things: a records release, a referral, a prior authorization form, a copy of an insurance card. If you have no fax machine, your phone camera and a pay-per-fax service will do it in a few minutes.

Send a fax for $3.99 Up to 25 pages. No subscription. Refunded automatically if it fails.

What patients usually fax

A records release (an authorization to send your medical records to another doctor, a lawyer or yourself).
New-patient forms and medical history forms the office sent you to fill in.
Insurance cards, front and back, and a photo ID when the office asks for them.
Referrals and prior authorization paperwork your insurer or another doctor gave you.
Work and school forms, like FMLA paperwork or a disability form, for the doctor to complete.

Before you send: confirm the fax number

Call the office or check its patient portal for the fax number of the department that needs the form. Big practices and hospitals have different fax lines for medical records, referrals and billing, and a fax to the wrong one can sit unread. Ask who it should be addressed to.

How to send it

Fill in and sign the form. A signature in pen on the paper copy is the safest choice for a records release.
Open the fax page on your phone and take a photo of each page, in order, flat and in good light. Or choose a PDF if you have one.
Enter the office's fax number.
Add a cover page: who it is for (for example "Medical Records, Attn: Maria"), your full name and date of birth, a phone number to reach you, and one line on what it is ("Signed records release for transfer to Dr. Lee").
Pay $3.99 for up to 25 pages. When the status says delivered, download the confirmation.

After it is delivered

Delivered means the office's fax machine accepted every page; it does not mean someone has read it yet. If it is time sensitive, call the next day, give the date and time from your confirmation, and ask them to confirm they have it.

About privacy and HIPAA

HIPAA's rules apply to doctors, clinics, insurers and their business associates, not to a patient sending their own paperwork. This fax service is not HIPAA-certified, and I do not sign business associate agreements, so it is meant for patients sending their own forms, not for medical offices sending patient records. Your file is sent to my server over an encrypted connection, kept only to send the fax, and deleted 7 days after it is sent.

If the fax fails

Busy and unanswered lines are retried automatically, up to 3 attempts. If it still can't be delivered, or the number turns out to be a voice line, you get a full refund automatically. Check the number with the office and send it again.

Send a fax for $3.99 Up to 25 pages. No subscription. Refunded automatically if it fails.

The IRS, Microsoft and other names mentioned are their owners' trademarks. I am not affiliated with any of them. This fax service is not HIPAA-certified.