METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISTRIBUTION OF FAX TRANSMISSIONS
Methods and system are described for fax transmission distribution. In one embodiment, the electronic message receives, over a circuit-switched network, an incoming call signal that identifies a fax telephone number as an outbound address, where the fax telephone number is uniquely and permanently associated to a user. The device receives an incoming fax transmission associated with the incoming call signal, where the incoming fax transmission includes a fax message in a fax suitable format, where the fax message is associated with the user. The device transmits, over a computer network, an electronic message that includes the fax message and the fax telephone number to a destination address based on the fax telephone number.
1 . A method performed by a programmed processor of an electronic device, the method comprising:
receiving, over a circuit-switched network, an incoming call signal that identifies a fax telephone number as an outbound address, wherein the fax telephone number is uniquely and permanently associated to a user;
receiving an incoming fax transmission associated with the incoming call signal, wherein the incoming fax transmission includes a fax message in a fax suitable format, wherein the fax message is associated with the user; and
transmitting, over a computer network, an electronic message that includes the fax message and the fax telephone number to a destination address based on the fax telephone number.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fax message includes medical data regarding the user, wherein the medical data comprises at least one of a medical record of the user and a medical image of the user.
3 . The method of claim 2 further comprising generating the electronic message according to an international medical standard that comprises at least one of a Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standard and a Health Level Seven (HL7) standard.
4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the incoming call signal is received from a healthcare service provider of which the user is a patient, wherein the destination address is of at least one of 1) the patient, 2) another healthcare service provider, and 3) an Electronic Health records (EHR) service provider.
5 . The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the electronic message is an e-mail that includes the fax message as an attachment when the destination address is an e-mail address, and
wherein the electronic message is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message that includes the fax message as the attachment when the destination address is a telephone number.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the destination address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address or a domain name of a destination address, wherein transmitting the electronic message comprises:
establishing, over the computer network and using the IP address or the domain name, a communication data connection with the destination device; and
transmitting the electronic message via the communication data connection.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the communication data connection is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection.
8 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the electronic message is transmitted according to an encryption protocol, wherein the encryption protocol comprises one of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol or a Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
9 . A method performed by a programmed processor of an electronic device, the method comprising:
receiving, over a computer network and from a source device, an electronic document and a fax telephone number to which the document is to be distributed as a fax transmission, wherein the fax telephone number is uniquely and permanently associated with a user of which the electronic document is associated;
determining that the electronic document is to be distributed as an electronic message to a destination address over the computer network based on the fax telephone number; and
transmitting, over the computer network, the electronic message that includes the electronic document and the fax telephone number to the destination address.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the electronic document is a first searchable electronic document, wherein the method further comprises:
generating a second searchable electronic document from the first searchable electronic document; and
adding an electronic signature to the second searchable electronic document that includes at least one of a timestamp of when the first searchable electronic document was received, a number of pages of the second searchable electronic document, and source device information.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the first searchable electronic document is in a first file format, wherein generating the second searchable electronic document comprises converting the first searchable electronic document from the first file format into a second file format that is searchable and is different from the first file format.
12 . The method of claim 9 , wherein determining that the electronic document is to be distributed as the electronic message comprises determining the destination address to which the electronic document is to be distributed by performing a table lookup using the fax telephone number into a data structure that associates fax telephone numbers with one or more destination addresses.
13 . The method of claim 9 ,
wherein the electronic message is an e-mail that includes the fax message as an attachment when the destination address is an e-mail address, and
wherein the electronic message is a Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) message that includes the fax message as the attachment when the destination address is a telephone number.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the destination address is an Internet Protocol (IP) address or a domain name of a destination address, wherein transmitting the electronic message comprises:
establishing, over the computer network and using the IP address or the domain name, a communication data connection with the destination device; and
transmitting the electronic message via the communication data connection.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the communication data connection is a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection.
16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the electronic message is transmitted according to an encryption protocol, wherein the encryption protocol comprises one of a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol or a Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.
17 . A system comprising:
A processor; and
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein which when executed by the processor causes the system to
receive, over a circuit-switched network, an incoming call signal that identifies a fax telephone number as an outbound address, wherein the fax telephone number is uniquely and permanently associated to a user;
receive an incoming fax transmission associated with the incoming call signal, wherein the incoming fax transmission includes a fax message in a fax suitable format, wherein the fax message is associated with the user; and
transmit, over a computer network, an electronic message that includes the fax message and the fax telephone number to a destination address based on the fax telephone number.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the fax message includes medical data regarding the user, wherein the medical data comprises at least one of a medical record of the user and a medical image of the user.
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further has instructions to generate the electronic message according to an international medical standard that comprises at least one of a Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standard and a Health Level Seven (HL7) standard.
20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the incoming call signal is received from a healthcare service provider of which the user is a patient, wherein the destination address is of at least one of 1) the patient, 2) another healthcare service provider, and 3) an Electronic Health records (EHR) service provider.