The article below provides a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) related to the Ring Central Integration available in the OSCAR Pro eFax module.
At minimum, you must get the Advanced tier provided by Ring Central for the eFax integration to work with your OSCAR Pro EMR. This plan costs $36/month on an annual plan.
Ring Central provides 35,000 calls per month. If you using Ring Central for faxes only, that is 35,000 received and sent faxes per month!
For more information on available discounts, see the Ring Central Prices & Sign Up section
Ring Central is a separate company providing electronic fax and other services. To set up a Ring Central account, use the contact form below to get in touch with Ring Central.
Ring Central has set up the following link for WELL clients to sign up for an account. Using it will help ensure that the associated discounts are applied:
https://www.ringcentral.com/go/healthcare.html?BMID=SIAWELLHEALTHLP&SPID=71228
You may also contact Ring Central directly outside of this form, but this may not associate your account with the WELL EMR Group and applicable discounts.
Once you have a Ring Central account, any user with Admin access in OSCAR Pro can set up the integration. Most users will only need to set this up once per Ring Central account.
In summary, this is done by obtaining a special JWT token used to create a secure connection between OSCAR Pro and Ring Central, and adjust several settings regarding where incoming faxes are routed to, which cover letter is used, etc.
For full instructions visit Integrating Existing Ring Central Account into EMR
Any Unread faxes that come into your Ring Central will automatically route to an Inbox within your OSCAR Pro EMR.
The relevant inbox is defined in the Incoming Inbox configuration of your eFax Account. It can be modified at any time.
Most clinics use the "Unclaimed" Inbox will routes faxes to the * found beside the Inbox section on the schedule
You may also choose to send the faxes to a specific provider instead, or create a new "dummy" provider like "Fax, Fax" and assign all faxes to route to that provider record.
For more information visit Configuring Fax Account Settings in OSCAR Pro
Yes, you may integrate multiple Ring Central accounts to receive faxes into your EMR. Each account must be integrated separately as a new Ring Central integration.
At this time, only 1 account can be designated as the sending account. It is not possible to send faxes using multiple accounts.
Here are some of the actions you will need to take in order to fully switch from SRFax to Ring Central:
- Obtain a Ring Central account
- Integrate your Ring Central account with OSCAR Pro
- Forward your fax number to route faxes from your existing SRFax number to Ring Central
- Port over your fax number so that Ring Central can fully assume your fax number going forward
- Monitor changes and SRFax account
- Once faxes stop coming into to SRFax, you can cancel your account.
It may take several weeks to fully transition to using Ring Central. Most of the time is spent waiting for Ring Central to take over your existing Fax number from SRFax.
During the process, you will still continue to receive any faxes coming into your SRFax account into the relevant EMR Inbox. No downtime is expected.
For more information on Fax Forwarding or Porting visit Forwarding existing Fax Number to Ring Central
Here are some of the actions you will need to take in order to fully switch from SRFax to Ring Central:
- Obtain a Ring Central account
- Integrate your Ring Central account with OSCAR Pro
- Forward your fax number to route faxes from your existing fax provider to Ring Central
- Port over your fax number so that Ring Central can fully assume your fax number going forward
- Once faxes stop coming into to your local fax number, you can cancel your account or use the fax line for another purpose.
It may take several weeks to fully transition to using Ring Central. Most of the time is spent waiting for Ring Central to take over your existing Fax number from your local fax provider.
During the process, you will still continue to receive any faxes coming into your SRFax account into the relevant EMR Inbox. No downtime is expected.
Are the faxes being opened before OSCAR Pro has a chance to grab them?
The Ring Central integration relies on faxes to be in Unread status for them to be picked up by the EMR. If a fax is opened in Ring Central and has the "Read" status, the EMR will not transmit it to the relevant Inbox.
Is the right Ring Central account set up?
Some clinics may have numerous Ring Central accounts. For example, the Super Admin Ring Central account was the one used to integrate into the EMR, but looking at the Ring Central App interface it is not receiving any faxes. As a result, the EMR does not have anything to transmit.
One way to confirm this is to log in to the Ring Central App and look to see whether there are any faxes being Received into the account.
Fax Forwarding is a configuration managed by your fax provider that allows you to forward any calls or faxes to another number of your choosing. This helps to forward faxes from your existing number to the temporary Ring Central number.
Fax Porting is a process that allows one provider to fully assume the desired fax number. This process is usually initiated through your new provider and may take several weeks to complete. This helps Ring Central permanently assume the fax number from your previous provider.
For more information please see the Forwarding existing Fax Number to Ring Central section
Yes. Your local fax or SRFax integrations use a separate method to retrieve faxes and route them to your EMR.
When Ring Central is integrated with your EMR, it will become the main sending fax provider. Any other faxes that come in to your non Ring Central account will still continue to transmit as before.
The functions responsible for the existing integration can only be turned off by a Technician on the Support side, and cannot be done by EMR users.
This transition period is necessary as it takes time for Ring Central to assume your existing fax number (usually at least two weeks).
The eFax integration is designed to work seamlessly with your existing workflows. Once set up, clicking fax in eForms, Consultations, Prescriptions, etc. will trigger the faxes using your Ring Central account instead of your previous integration.
Most users are unlikely to see any difference.
You do gain additional features however such as the ability to check your Outbox for any sent faxes within the EMR, as well as select a default Cover Letter (initiated by Ring Central)
You can view sent faxes directly from the EMR!
The associated section can be accessed via Administration > Electronic Faxing > Fax Sent/Received Inbox
This section allows users to do the following:
- See a list of faxes triggered from the EMR
- Review the status of each fax (pending, delivered, etc.) in real time
- Filter by demographic number to see faxes sent for a specific demographic
- View the content of the specific fax item from EMR
For more information, see Viewing Sent Ring Central Faxes Directly from EMR.
While enabling the Ring Central integration is immediate, turning it off and reverting to sending faxes using your SRFax integration requires an EMR restart. Your EMR restarts automatically overnight, but it is recommended to get in touch with Support and co-ordinate the process to avoid any potential missed faxes.
The Ring Central PHIPA Compliance Guide be read here: https://www.ringcentral.com/ca/en/trust-center/privacy-regulations-worldwide.html
Ring Central data may not be stored solely in Canada.
PHIPA does not prohibit US companies from being used/nor does it prohibit data from leaving Canada so long as the appropriate privacy and security provisions are included in the contracts.
As long as the physician is transparent in their privacy policy that PHI may be processed and stored in the United Stated but their vendor has contractual provisions to protect the security and privacy of the data to the same standard as though it were processed in Canada.