Health Care Clings to Faxes as U.S. Pushes Electronic Records

Health IT pros and federal regulators dream of a health-care system in which the flow of information happens seamlessly through a simple mouse-click, with just the right data flowing in an instant to just the right provider in just the right form.

But getting to health IT nirvana will mean dealing with the fax machine—and with the limitations of current technology that make fax machines necessary.

At least 70% of health-care providers still exchange medical information by fax, according to federal officials, and some providers, such as nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities, rely heavily on the outdated technology.

Electronic ...