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Technically you can, but a faxed X-ray or MRI is near-useless for diagnosis. Fax tops out around 200 dpi in pure black and white, which wipes out the gray detail a radiologist needs. The practical answer: fax the radiology report, not the image, and move the actual images through the imaging center's secure portal or on disc.
Three limits stack up. First, resolution: even at the finest setting, a fax carries roughly 200 dots per inch, while a diagnostic image is read at far higher detail on a medical-grade monitor. Second, grayscale: fax is a black-and-white medium, so the hundreds of gray shades in an X-ray get crushed into dithered dots, and subtle density differences (exactly what a radiologist reads) disappear. Third, the scan itself: most people fax a printed film or a printout, so the image has already lost detail before the fax line touches it. What arrives looks like a photocopy of a photocopy, and no clinician should read from it.
| What you send | What the recipient can do with it |
|---|---|
| The radiology report (text) | Read the findings exactly as written; this is what most offices actually need |
| A faxed copy of the image | See that an image exists; not reliable for diagnosis |
| Images via the imaging center's portal or disc | View full-resolution images with proper grayscale on diagnostic software |
The written radiology report. It is text, which is exactly what fax handles well, and it contains the radiologist's findings, measurements, and impression: the information the receiving doctor acts on. When a specialist's office asks you to "fax the X-ray," what they usually need is the report plus the images through a proper channel. Send the report by fax, then ask the imaging center to push the images to the specialist electronically or burn a disc you can hand over.
Yes. In the US, faxing patient information falls under HIPAA: you need the right fax number (verify it before sending, since a misdirected fax is a breach), a cover sheet with a confidentiality notice, and the machine should not be one where pages sit in a shared tray. Canada's provincial health privacy laws work similarly. One more practical rule: never fax medical documents from a public machine at a library or shipping store, where the sent-file memory and the output tray are both outside your control.
LetterAgent sends faxes to US and Canadian fax numbers: you describe the fax to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent. That workflow fits text documents like radiology reports, referrals, and prior authorization forms. It does not fit diagnostic images, for the quality reasons above, and there is no inbound fax. Fax is currently available in testing, so send times are not guaranteed.
Ready to fax it? Fax with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is sent.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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