Time Warp: Fax Machines Still Common in Oncology Practice

Medscape July 1, 2024
Alicia Gallegos

On any given day, oncologist Mark Lewis, MD, feels like he’s seesawing between two eras of technology.

One minute, he’s working on sequencing a tumor genome. The next, he’s sifting through pages of disorganized data from a device that has been around for decades: the fax machine.

“If two doctors’ offices aren’t on the same electronic medical record, one of the main ways to transfer records is still by fax,” said Lewis, director of gastrointestinal oncology at Intermountain Healthcare in Murray, Utah. “I can go from cutting-edge innovation to relying on, at best, 1980s information technology. It just boggles my mind.”

Lewis, who has posted about his frustration with fax machines, is far from alone. Oncologists are among...

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