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Topic starter
I have been informed by our vendor, Biscom, that my hardware is "end of life" and am going to have to spend money on new hardware or probably they will try to push their cloud solution. We currently use Brooktrout / Biscom hardware because it has a very good track record of talking to a wide variety of fax hardware. We use old school copper lines, too, after many hours of troubleshooting with Annie from Biscom, that was the only way we could communicate with the ancient fax machines in rural areas which we deal with. It just works and I really don't want some high maintenance solution to replace this. We only use it for outbound faxing through Athena Practice, formerly CPS. Our ACM system is tied to this hardware as well.
I would gladly go to a cloud solution for this if my headaches do not increase. A lot of facilities we fax to are rural and still behind the times. If part of their cloud solution would be to deal with issues without my knowledge, I am all in, but that is usually not the case.
We have a local cloud HIE which faxes on our behalf but it is not as reliable as the Biscom hardware we rely on. This local HIE will try to fax to certain places but fail with the same frequency we did before returning to the old school hardware. They attempt to modernize the facilities in town and do things electronically but some won't budge and faxing is the only option there.
I am open to looking into anything from old school solutions to t.38 VoIP (that works). My experience with t.38 has been bad when we communicate with old fax machines. In bound we use IAX Modem technology and it works great. It would probably work great to replace Biscom but there is no integration with AP/CPS.
Thank you in advance for any recommendations
Mike Zavolas
Tallahassee Neurological Clinic
Posted : April 8, 2021 12:07 am
Hi Mike. We run Biscom in a VM. We have a ISDN-PRI from the LEC connected to an Adtran TA924 onsite. The Adtran translates between PRI and SIP, and sends the SIP calls to Biscom, or SIP PBX using the g711u codec. We also have a few analog ports on the Adtran connected for things like real paper fax machines.
We've been set up that way for I'd say 5 years or so. We've had issues occasionally, which off-hand I feel like a reset of the Adtran has resolved much of the time.
We have some other lower-volume sites where the LEC delivers service via SIP, but that is still a local hand-off. I would stay away from cloud SIP providers, especially if fax is involved.
I know we experimented with T.38 initially, but I don't think we ended up leaving it enabled.
-dp
Posted : April 8, 2021 1:37 am
Topic starter
I would love to virtualize my fax server. I have two fax servers, one of which is virtual, and the other is the one with the Brooktrout card from Biscom, which is EOL, although working perfectly. I think I am missing something with your solution. Is the Biscom VM sending the faxes to the cloud then faxing to the destination for you or is the Biscom VM talking to the TA924? Is the TA924 supplied by Biscom or something you have for your pbx solution?
I have a similar setup to you with a channel bank (by Patton), which leverages my PRI and shares the digital lines with my VoIP/SIP server but also converts channels to analog on-demand. I do not use the channel bank with the Biscom hardware, though, because of previous issues.
I have a call with Biscom sales in the morning. I requested a technical person to be there to have a proper discussion on how this works. I am hoping that I could eliminate the on-site fax hardware but I do not wish to increase my support burden of "this fax didn't go through, fix it!"
It is sad that I am even having to spend additional money on anything. My VoIP server can do this very well but the integrated logging with AP / CPS is the missing piece.
Posted : April 8, 2021 3:07 am
Channel bank...a term I haven't heard in a lot of years. The TA924 has a channel bank component to it, although it does more than a channel bank.
On outbound faxes, Biscom sends to the TA924 via SIP. The TA924 converts from SIP to PRI and sends the call to the LEC. The TA924 is ours.
IIRC, Biscom sold us the "Brooktrout SR140 Virtual Fax Board" which virtualizes a fax board that Biscom accesses as they normally would in software (like a modem with com ports I'd imagine), and the SR140 converts that to SIP rather than PRI or analog like a physical card would.
I think it would be fun to develop a fax status solution between a SIP PBX and aP. It probably wouldn't be worth the investment of time and money, but it would be enjoyable.
-dp
Posted : April 8, 2021 3:59 am
Good afternoon,
I work at the Wake County Sheriff Office and we have had success in using this application. We are currently in the beginning stages of implementing an E H R but I was told this would be compatible with Centricity/Athena Health. Best of luck!!!!!
https://paperlessproductivity.com/compliance/rightfax-hipaa/
Kanisha S. Taylor, MBA
Assistant Director
Wake County Sheriff’s Office
Information Technology
+1.919.856.6961 office |
+1.919.538.9150 mobile
330 S. Salisbury Street | P.O. Box 550
Posted : April 8, 2021 4:50 am
Topic starter
Perfect. Thank you for this information. I have a meeting with Biscom in the morning so this gives me some food for thought.
Mike
Posted : April 8, 2021 4:56 am
Topic starter
Thank you Kanisha. I definitely want to look into other vendors so this is very helpful.
Mike
Posted : April 8, 2021 4:58 am
Hello Mike,
I am with Hillsboro Clinic we have Centricity/Athena health. We have been using ezAccess faxing. It has been great. You are able to attach your faxes straight the patients chart. You are also able to sign the fax electronically and send it back & have it then attach into the patients chart with you having to print it and scan it. We have all really enjoyed the new change that we have made. I would recommend this faxing system. The costumer serves is great also. They will customize your fax system to the way that works best for you.
There website (www.ezAccess mot.com) or email [email protected]
Have a great day.
Stacy
503-681-4366 ex 206
Posted : April 8, 2021 5:48 am
ezFax from Medical Office Technologies (MOT).
Posted : April 8, 2021 8:30 am
Topic starter
Thank you Stacy!
Posted : April 8, 2021 11:56 am
Topic starter
Thank you!
Posted : April 8, 2021 11:57 am
