ReferralMD Launches AI to Automate Healthcare Fax Workflows

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – ReferralMD has announced the launch of SmartFax AI, an artificial intelligence agent aimed at automating healthcare fax workflows. The system is designed to understand faxed documents, create structured referrals, and synchronize patient data with electronic health record (EHR) systems, thereby transforming existing fax processes into automated digital workflows.

Faxing remains a significant bottleneck in U.S. healthcare communication, impacting appointment scheduling and the retrieval of diagnostic results. Industry estimates suggest that the cost of manual administrative transactions within healthcare exceeds $250 billion annually, largely due to inefficiencies associated with faxed documents.

SmartFax AI operates by processing inbound faxes autonomously, allowing external referral partners to continue faxing as usual without needing to alter their existing methods. The AI classifies and routes faxes, matches patients to records or creates new ones, validates referral information, and generates digital referrals. It facilitates direct integration with EHR systems through standard interfaces such as APIs, HL7, and FHIR.

David Bongiovanni, CEO of ReferralMD, stated that the technology's approach is to automate the labor around faxing rather than digitize the fax machine itself. SmartFax AI handles tasks including patient data entry, appointment scheduling, insurance verification, and patient communication, aiming to free up healthcare staff to concentrate on patient care and exception management.

The SmartFax AI solution is available immediately and supports various healthcare organizations. It integrates with major EHR systems, including Epic, MEDITECH, and athenahealth, offering a pay-as-you-go pricing model with low integration costs.