Manitoba’s Health Care Urged to Abandon Fax Machines for Efficiency

Manitoba’s health-care system faces significant challenges, including long wait times, overcrowded emergency rooms, and chronic staffing shortages. Adding to these issues is the continued reliance on outdated technology—specifically, fax machines. A new report by Doctors Manitoba highlights the absurdity of this situation, emphasizing the need for urgent modernization in communication practices within the province’s health sector.

Report Highlights Inefficiencies

The report, titled Axe the Fax, underscores just how entrenched fax machines are in Manitoba’s health care. Each year, physicians send approximately one million referrals to specialists and diagnostic imaging requests, with most still relying on fax or traditional mail. Shockingly, 85 percent of doctor-to-doctor consultations also occur via fax. In an era of instantaneous electronic communication, this reliance is not only outdated but detrimental to patient care.

According to Dr. Nichelle Desilets, president of Doctors Manitoba, this outdated system leads to delays and confusion. Patients often experience long waits for scans and specialist visits, as the inefficiencies behind the scenes remain hidden. The report emphasizes that while discussions around health care often focus on increasing resources—more operating room time, additional beds, and hiring more staff—addressing these communication issues is equally crucial.

Consequences of a Fax-Based System

The inefficiencies of fax-based referrals create a convoluted process. A physician must complete a form, send it via fax, and then wait, often uncertain if the transmission was successful. The receiving specialist’s office might end up with a faded or incomplete document, requiring staff to manually sort, enter, and file the information. This cumbersome method can lead to lost referrals, misplaced documents, or misdirected requests, further prolonging patient wait times.

Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara acknowledged the need for reform, stating that the province is working on initiatives such as a digital health card, centralized surgical referrals, and plans for a provincial electronic patient record by 2026. While these developments are promising, Manitobans have heard similar promises in the past and are understandably cautious.

The report from Doctors Manitoba suggests a practical approach to these challenges. Recommendations include the establishment of a provincial physician directory to ensure referrals reach the appropriate specialists, the development of well-resourced central intake systems, and urgent measures to address diagnostic imaging backlogs. Most crucially, the report calls for the digitization of referrals and consultations.

The objective is clear: modernize the communication methods used by health-care professionals to improve efficiency. This would not only save valuable time for physicians but also expedite patient access to necessary care. A modern health-care system must employ modern tools, including secure electronic referrals and diagnostic requests, to eliminate unnecessary delays.

As the conversation around health care in Manitoba continues, the urgency to axe the fax becomes increasingly apparent. The time for modernizing communication practices is now.