Fax page

What it is

The Fax page lets your clinic send faxes, receive faxes, and keep a list of fax numbers, all inside the portal. When a fax arrives on your clinic's fax line, an AI reads it and tells you what it is, who it is about, what to do, and how urgent it is.

Why it is there

Many pharmacies, labs and other offices still use fax. Some prescriptions (for example controlled substances, or pharmacies without an online ordering connection) must be faxed. This page keeps all of that in one place and links faxes to the patient's chart.

Who can see and use it

• The clinic must have the fax feature. Fax is included in the Pro plan only (and in Prescripta's internal and demo clinics).
• The clinic's fax line is set up by Prescripta. Contact support for a new number or a change.
• Permissions (set in Admin → Roles):

How to get there

Click Fax in the top bar. You can also click Send a fax at the top of a patient's page; this opens the Send a fax tab with that patient already filled in.

The tabs

The page opens on Inbox if you may open received faxes. Otherwise it opens on Send a fax.

Messages at the top of the page: a red box is an error, a green box is a success message. Click either box to close it.

Inbox tab

What it shows

Every fax received on the clinic's fax line, newest first. Under each fax you see what the AI read, the patient it is linked to, and buttons.

The text at the top says:

• With the AI feature on: Faxes received on the clinic line. The AI reads each one and suggests what it is, who it is about and what to do, check the document before acting.
• With the AI feature off: Turn on the AI add-on to have each fax read and summarized automatically. (Every plan includes the AI feature, so you normally see the first message.)

How a received fax gets here

1. Someone faxes your clinic's number.
2. The fax company tells the portal a fax arrived. (This link with the fax company is set up by Prescripta.)
3. The portal fetches the fax, stores it safely, and adds a row to the Inbox. This takes a few seconds.
4. The AI reads the fax a few seconds later and fills in the summary.

There is no "check for new faxes" button and the hourly checks do not look for new received faxes. Received faxes arrive only through the fax company's notice. If a fax you expect never shows up, contact support.

Each fax row, top line

• Sender in bold. The portal uses, in this order: the sender name the AI read on the page, the caller name sent by the fax company, the sender's fax number, or Unknown sender.
• After the sender: the date and time received (for example Oct 25, 1:05 PM, shown in your computer's time zone), the number of pages (1 page, 3 pages, or ? pages if unknown), and the sender's fax number.
• Urgency pill (from the AI):

• Category pill (from the AI). One of: prescription, refill request, lab result, referral, records request, prior auth (prior authorization), pharmacy notice, invoice, advertisement, other.
• added by hand pill: the fax was uploaded by staff, not received on the clinic line. Hover to see "Added by hand, not received on the clinic line".
• handled pill (green): someone marked it handled. Handled rows are also shown faded.

Each fax row, the AI read

• A one- or two-sentence summary of what the fax is and what it says.
• To do: one sentence about what the clinic needs to do. Not shown when the AI thinks nothing needs doing (for example an advertisement).
• If the AI could not read the fax, you see AI could not read this fax ([reason]), open it. and a Read again button. Common reasons: the document is too large for the AI (over about 4.5 MB), or the AI service had a problem.

The AI read is advice only. It never changes anything in the portal by itself except linking the patient (see below). Always open the document before you act.

Each fax row, the Patient line

The line starts with Patient: and then shows one of these:

How the automatic match works:

• First and last name must match (in either order). Middle names, punctuation and capital letters are ignored.
• If the fax has a date of birth, it must match too. If the name matches but the date of birth on the fax is different from the patient's, the fax is NOT linked.
• If two or more patients share the name and the date of birth cannot decide, the fax is NOT linked.
• Archived patients are never matched.
• The date of birth in the "fax says" text is shown as year-month-day (for example 1980-04-12), exactly as the AI read it.

When a fax is linked to a patient, it shows in the Faxes card on that patient's page.

Buttons on each received fax

Open

• Opens the fax document in a new browser tab.
• The link works for 2 minutes only, for safety. Click Open again for a fresh link.
• Every open is written to the Audit log.
• If nothing opens, your browser may have blocked the new tab. Allow pop-ups for the portal.

Forward

• Who: people with Send faxes and manage fax contacts.
• Click Forward. A box appears: Fax number to forward to. Type the number, then click Send.
• Send stays grey until the number has at least 10 digits.
• After you click: the message Forwarding, see Sent. The same document is sent as a new fax. It shows on the Sent tab with the note "Forwarded received fax".
• Click Forward again to close the box without sending.

Mark handled / Reopen

• Who: people with Open received faxes and mark them handled.
• Mark handled means "we have dealt with this fax." The message is Marked handled. The fax leaves the list (unless show handled is ticked), and the Inbox badge and the Fax badge in the top bar go down by one.
• On a handled fax the button says Reopen. Click it to put the fax back in the Inbox. The message is Back in the inbox.
• The portal records who marked it handled and when.

Delete

• Who: people with Delete sent and received faxes.
• A box asks: Delete this received fax and its document? The audit trail keeps a record of the deletion. Click OK to delete.
• The fax and its document are removed for good. It also disappears from the patient's Faxes card. The Audit log keeps a record that it was deleted and by whom. This cannot be undone.

Read again (only when the AI read failed)

• Who: people with Open received faxes and mark them handled.
• Shows only next to AI could not read this fax. It is not offered for a fax the AI already read.
• Click it to ask the AI to read the fax again. The message says Reading again, refresh in about 15 seconds. and how many re-reads are left today.
• Daily limit: re-reads are rationed per clinic per day, by plan:

• Prescripta can raise a clinic's number. The count starts over each day (Eastern time).
• When the limit is used up, you see: Today's [N] fax re-reads are used up, every fax is read automatically when it arrives; re-reads are rationed. Open the fax instead.
• The first read of every fax is automatic and free. It does not count against the limit.
• Fax re-reads and AI brief regenerations (on the Dashboard) have separate counters, each with the same daily number.

Link patient / Unlink

• Link patient: a search box appears (Search by name). Type at least 2 letters. Up to 8 matching patients show with their membership type. Click one. The message is Linked to [name]. Click Cancel to close the search.
• Unlink: shows next to a linked patient. Removes the link. No message; the row updates.
• Linking or unlinking does not change the patient's record. It only decides whose Faxes card shows the fax.

show handled (tick box)

• Unticked (normal): only faxes not yet handled are listed.
• Ticked: handled faxes are listed too, faded, with a green handled pill and a Reopen button.
• This choice is not saved. It resets when you leave the page.

Add a received fax by hand

The fold-out line Add a received fax by hand (a PDF that arrived outside the clinic line) (with - the AI reads it the same way when the AI is on).

• Why: a fax came in another way (another machine, e-mail, a scan) and you want it in the Inbox with the AI read and patient link.
• How: click the line to open it. Optionally type the Sender (optional) (up to 80 characters). Then choose a PDF file. The upload starts as soon as you pick the file.
• Only PDF files are accepted. Another file type shows Upload a PDF.
• While it works you see Uploading…. Then: Added to the inbox, the AI read appears in a few seconds (refresh if it is not there yet).
• The row shows the added by hand pill.
• Who: anyone who can see the Inbox. Open received faxes and mark them handled is enough; you do not also need Send faxes and manage fax contacts.

Empty messages

• No faxes received yet.: nothing has ever arrived.
• Everything is handled.: faxes exist, but all are marked handled and show handled is unticked.
• Loading…: the list is still loading.

Questions people ask

Q: Does the AI read every fax?

A: Yes. Every received fax is read once, automatically, a few seconds after it arrives. This includes faxes you add by hand.

Q: Can I trust the AI summary?

A: Use it to sort and prioritize. Always open the fax before acting. The AI only uses what is printed and is told never to guess a name or date, but it can still be wrong.

Q: The AI linked the fax to the wrong patient. How do I fix it?

A: Click Unlink, then Link patient and pick the right person.

Q: The fax says a patient's name but says "not in the portal", but the patient IS in the portal.

A: The match needs exactly one patient with that first and last name, and a matching date of birth when the fax shows one. It says "not in the portal" if the name is spelled differently, if two patients share the name, if the date of birth on the fax differs from the one saved, or if the patient is archived. Use Link patient to link it yourself.

Q: Why is there no Read again button?

A: Read again only appears when the AI could not read the fax. If the AI already read it, there is nothing to re-read.

Q: Read again says my re-reads are used up.

A: Your clinic used today's allowance (Base 3, Plus 6, Pro 12). It resets tomorrow. Open the fax and read it yourself, or ask support about a higher allowance.

Q: The AI says "Document too large for AI review."

A: The fax is bigger than the AI can take (about 4.5 MB). Read again will not help. Open it and read it yourself.

Q: Does marking a fax handled change anything else?

A: No. It only takes the fax off the Inbox list and out of the badge count. It does not change the patient, an order or anything else.

Q: I marked a fax handled by mistake.

A: Tick show handled, find the fax, and click Reopen.

Q: Who sent this fax? It says Unknown sender.

A: The AI found no sender name on the page and the fax company sent no caller name or number. Open the document to see.

Q: How long are fax documents kept?

A: The fax row (date, sender, AI read, patient link) stays in the list. The document file itself is kept for 90 days. After that, Open (and Forward or Resend) may not be able to open the file, because it is gone. The row stays in the list either way. If you need a fax for longer, save or print it within 90 days.

Q: How many faxes does the list show?

A: The newest 200 received faxes. Older ones are not listed. The Inbox badge counts faxes not yet handled among those 200.

Q: A fax came in but it is not in the Inbox.

A: Wait a minute and reload the page. Received faxes reach the portal through the fax company's notice, which Prescripta sets up. If it still is not there, contact support with the time it was sent. You can also add it by hand if you have the PDF.

Send a fax tab

What it is

A form to fax any document: a signed prescription, records, a letter, a scan.

The text at the top says: Download the prescription (patient → order → Rx PDF), sign it, then send the signed copy here. Attach up to 10 files (PDF, PNG or JPEG, 20 MB each), they go out as one fax, in the order listed.

Fields

Attachments list

Each attached file shows its name and size in KB, plus:

• ↑ move up, ↓ move down (the fax is sent in this order)
• Remove takes it off the list
• A red tag if there is a problem: over 20 MB or PDF, PNG or JPEG only

If you pick more than 10 files, only the first 10 are kept.

PDF files keep all their pages. Each PNG or JPEG picture becomes one letter-size page.

The Send button

• Says Send fax for one file, or Send N files as one fax for several.
• Grey (cannot click) until: at least one file is attached, every file is OK, and the fax number has 10 digits.
• If the number is not 10 digits you see Enter a 10-digit fax number.
• While it works it says Uploading…, Uploading 2 of 3…, then Sending….

What happens after you click

1. The files upload and the portal joins them into one PDF.
2. The fax goes to the fax company. You see: Fax to [name or number] is on its way, delivery shows under Sent. The page switches to the Sent tab.
3. The fax shows as Sending. When the fax company reports back, it changes to Delivered or Failed. Usually this is quick. If the fax company does not report back, the portal asks at the next hourly check. You can also click Check now on the Sent tab.

Problems and messages

Faxing a prescription straight from the order form

Separate from this page, people with Send a staged prescription to the pharmacy see Fax to pharmacy on the order form when the pharmacy has a fax number. The portal builds the prescription PDF, stamps the prescriber's signature on file, and faxes it. The message is Faxing to [pharmacy]. The order shows Ordered once the fax service accepts it; delivery is checked hourly. A copy shows on the Sent tab with · from order. See the Pharmacy and Orders section for details.

Questions people ask

Q: How do I fax a signed prescription?

A: Open the patient, open the order, click Rx PDF, print and sign it (or sign it digitally), scan or save it, then come here, attach it, pick the pharmacy under To (saved contact), and click Send fax. Or use Fax to pharmacy on the order form, which uses the signature on file.

Q: Can I send a fax to more than one number at once?

A: No. One fax goes to one number. Use Send a fax again for each number. (Resend on the Sent tab only shows for a failed fax and sends to the same number.)

Q: Is the recipient name or the note printed on the fax?

A: No. Both are only for your Sent list. The fax company prints the clinic's header (Admin → Settings → Fax → Header printed on every page) at the top of each page.

Q: Is there a cover page?

A: The portal does not add one. Attach your own cover page as the first file.

Q: The Send button is grey.

A: Check: at least one file attached, no red tag on any file, and a 10-digit fax number.

Q: Can I send a Word document?

A: No. Save it as PDF first.

Sent tab

What it shows

Every fax sent from the portal (from this page, from the order form, and forwards), newest first.

The tab badge shows how many faxes are still Sending.

Columns

Status pills

Common failure reasons: No answer at the destination, Destination line busy, No fax machine answered, Connection dropped mid-fax, Bad number, Invalid number, Cancelled at the carrier.

Buttons

Open

Opens the sent document in a new tab (link good for 2 minutes). Each open is recorded in the Audit log.

Check now (only while Sending)

• Asks the fax company for the status right now instead of waiting for the next hourly check.
• The message is like Fax service says: Delivered, Sent or Fax service says: Sending, [detail].

Resend (only when Failed)

• Sends the same document to the same number again as a new fax. Message: Sending again.
• The failed row stays in the list. A new row appears for the new try.

Delete

• Who: people with Delete sent and received faxes.
• Not shown while a fax is still Sending. If you try, the portal says This fax is still being sent, wait for it to finish (Check now), then delete it.
• A box asks Delete this sent fax and its document? The audit trail keeps a record of the deletion.

Empty message

Nothing sent yet.

Questions people ask

Q: How long does it take to show Delivered?

A: Usually a minute or two, when the fax company reports back to the portal. If it does not, the portal checks at the next hourly check (at 5 minutes past the hour, 6:05 AM to 11:05 PM Eastern). Click Check now any time.

Q: It failed with "Destination line busy". What do I do?

A: Wait a few minutes and click Resend.

Q: A fax from the order form failed. Do I resend it here?

A: You can click Resend here to send the same document again. The order itself shows a pharmacy error; see the Pharmacy section to fax again from the order so the order status follows.

Q: Why is the "By" column blank?

A: Faxes sent from the order form do not fill in this column. The order's history on the patient page shows who sent it.

Q: Can I see the faxes for one patient?

A: Yes. Open the patient's page and look at the Faxes card.

Contacts tab

What it shows

Your clinic's fax address book. The text says: Saved fax numbers. Pharmacies with a fax number under Settings → Pharmacies are listed automatically.

Contacts are grouped under headings: Pharmacy, Provider / practice, Lab / imaging, Other. A heading only shows when it has contacts.

Columns

Add contact

Click Add contact. Fill in:

• Name (required, up to 120 characters)
• Fax number (required, 10 digits)
• Type: Pharmacy, Provider / practice, Lab / imaging, or Other
• Phone (optional)
• Notes (optional) (up to 500 characters)

Click Save contact (grey until there is a name and a 10-digit number). Message: Contact saved. Click Cancel to close without saving.

Edit and Remove

• Edit opens the same form with the contact filled in.
• Remove asks Remove [name] from the contact list? Click OK.
• Pharmacies that come from Settings cannot be edited here. Their fax number is set by Prescripta in Admin → Settings → Pharmacies. The edit under Settings link takes you there.

Questions people ask

Q: A pharmacy is missing from Contacts.

A: Only pharmacies that are turned on and have a fax number in Settings → Pharmacies are listed. Ask support to add the fax number, or add it yourself here as a contact.

Q: Who can add contacts?

A: Anyone with Send faxes and manage fax contacts.

Q: I got "Enter a 10-digit fax number".

A: The number must have 10 digits (a leading 1 is allowed).

Fax settings (short note)

Admin → Settings → Fax (add-on) shows the clinic's fax number and lets an owner or admin change three things: Header printed on every page (clinic name), Delivery-receipt e-mail (optional) and Quality (Fine or Normal). There is also a Test connection button. The fax service and the fax line are set up by Prescripta; contact support to change the number or the fax company. See the Settings section for more.