# In praise of the fax
Canonical source: [https://www.braver.net/en/blog/in-praise-of-the-fax/]()
The Braver journal
For 3 years, we have been building an agile communication tool suited to the modern world. For 3 years, we have been pointing out a glaring problem in our healthcare system: the communication tools in use are often archaic and inefficient. For 3 years, we have wanted to eliminate the fax.
![Marie-Lou Gagnon]()
Marie-Lou Gagnon February 1, 2022
![In praise of the fax]()
[Photo by Jan Huber]()
Yet 3 weeks ago, during a strategy meeting, I had an “[aha moment]().” I don't know whether you have ever experienced this, but it is the kind of moment when your brain decides to make an unusual connection between two things you already knew. And that feeling of understanding something new is truly exciting. All it took was adding one tiny new piece of information to my thinking for my brain to decide to see things differently.
*I realized that I needed to stop disparaging the fax and start **respecting** it. That I needed to stop feeling discouraged by this tool and start being **fascinated** by it.*
Because yes, it is truly fascinating to see such a tool still being used so widely in 2022. We should therefore pause and observe it instead. Pause and learn from it.
The fax is still very much present in our healthcare system (and other sectors!) in 2022 for many reasons. Yes, the healthcare market evolves slowly. Yes, exchanging sensitive data brings many constraints. Yes, the healthcare network is extremely complex, and integrating new technologies into it poses many challenges. But beyond all that, the fax has strengths, whether we like it or not.
**The fax is accessible**
A medical clinic can decide tomorrow morning to buy a fax machine, install it and start sending and receiving faxes very shortly afterward. Compared with deploying any computerized system in healthcare, it is night and day.
**The fax is easy to use**
I am not saying the youngest generations know how to use one, but anyone who wants to can learn fairly quickly to send a fax to anyone. The learning curve is fairly gentle.
**The fax is fairly reliable**
A few quick searches suggest that fax transmission error rates range from 1% to 7%, due to human error or infrastructure problems. It may be even lower in healthcare. It is not perfect, but it is tolerable and probably much better than delivering paper letters by land.
Also, in terms of security, many of the risks present in a centralized computer system do not exist with the fax, because it stores nothing in memory. It prints sheets and forgets everything. It is not perfect, but it is more secure (if we consider transmission alone) than many systems currently in use, even within our healthcare network!
**The fax supports a network**
And this is probably the most important argument. In the past, most workplaces had a fax number that was easy to find in the directory. Even today, in healthcare, most clinics and departments have their own fax number: that is what we call a network, and it is what allows a communication tool to thrive.
---
Obviously, the fax is not perfect, but by definition, if it is still around today, it is because **no other solution has managed to convince people to change their habits.**
We can feel discouraged and powerless in the face of this reality. Or we can decide to find it fascinating and ask ourselves: “*What could we do differently with the fax as an ally?*”
So, at the start of 2022, I decided to change my perspective and make the fax my friend, my ally. 😆 It is quite surprising how much a simple internal shift in perspective can stimulate creativity.
This realization gave rise to new ideas, a strong sense of seeing a way forward, and concrete actions! Stay tuned to find out whether my kindness toward the fax will bear fruit! 🤓😁