How AI/NLP Transforms Healthcare Faxes into Structured Data – Leading to Faster Patient Care

In 2020, as America’s hospitals became overrun by patients presenting with COVID-19 symptoms, providers and labs began sending notifications of positive cases to their local health departments (LHDs). The notices provided these government agencies valuable information on where to mobilize resources to slow potential outbreaks.

But in addition to the sheer number of COVID-positive notices they were receiving, LHDs faced another challenge. Many providers were transmitting their notifications by fax. Hardcopy records piled up on LHDs’ fax machines. Public health officials needed to manually sift through and read each fax document to triage the most serious cases.