The 2026 HIMSS conference brought healthcare leaders, innovators, and technology providers together to explore the future of digital health. For ETHERFAX, this year’s event was an opportunity to showcase how secure, cloud-based document exchange is evolving to support AI-driven workflows, stronger data protection, and more efficient healthcare operations.
Highlights from HIMSS26
AI and Automation in Healthcare
Artificial intelligence and automation were central themes across the show floor. Healthcare organizations are increasingly looking to reduce administrative burden and improve patient experiences through intelligent workflows. Our team highlighted how secure document exchange serves as a critical foundation for these initiatives, enabling the seamless movement of structured and unstructured data across systems.
By layering artificial intelligence on top of this foundation, organizations can automate time-consuming processes through data extraction, automatic document classification, and intelligent routing to the appropriate systems or departments. This reduces manual intervention, accelerates processing times, and improves data accuracy, allowing healthcare staff to focus more on patient care and less on administrative tasks.
Security and Data Protection
With the continued rise in cyber threats and regulatory scrutiny, security remains a top priority for healthcare organizations. We demonstrated how our cloud-native platform, built with advanced encryption and designed to meet rigorous standards such as HIPAA and SOC 2, helps organizations safeguard sensitive data. Attendees were impressed with our security-first mindset, reporting capabilities, and detailed audit trails that provide full visibility into document activity.
Migrating from On-Premise Faxing to the Cloud
Many organizations are still reliant on legacy fax infrastructure, which can lead to workflow inefficiencies and security risks. ETHERFAX’s “crawl, walk, run” methodology resonated with attendees as a practical approach to modernization. This phased strategy allows healthcare providers to transition from on-premise fax servers to a hybrid-cloud solution or a fully cloud-based environment at their own pace, minimizing disruption to existing workflows while unlocking immediate benefits in reliability, security, and operational efficiency.
4 Key Themes and Sessions at the HIMSS26 Global Conference
1. Addressing Workforce Shortages with Intelligent Document Processing
Workforce shortages continue to challenge healthcare systems, increasing the need for automation. Jay Volk, Chief Growth Officer at ETHERFAX, discussed how Generative AI (GenAI) can streamline time-consuming processes such as patient onboarding, claims processing, and administrative workflows.
To put these benefits into practice, ETHERFAX has partnered with Weave Cloud Solutions to deliver intelligent document processing (IDP) powered by GenAI. By automatically classifying document types and extracting critical data in seconds, this approach reduces manual data entry, accelerates decision-making, and enables staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
2. Faxing Directly into Hyland OnBase via the Cloud
On the conference show floor, Director of Business Development at ETHERFAX Quinn Corey showcased how our direct integration with Hyland OnBase transforms document workflows. By eliminating traditional fax infrastructure and routing documents directly into OnBase, organizations benefit from improved speed, enhanced security, and greater reliability.
Our integration with Hyland OnBase simplifies document management while ensuring critical information is securely delivered and readily accessible within existing systems.
3. Improving U.S. Government Efficiency with ETHERFAX GovCloud
Ryan Collins, Director of Support and Tech Ops at ETHERFAX, proudly introduced our new solution, ETHERFAX GovCloud. Built specifically for government agencies, ETHERFAX GovCloud is FedRAMP® High Impact Level 5 (IL5) certified and provides a secure environment for document exchange across federal, state, and local agencies.
The solution supports digital transformation initiatives by enabling agencies to modernize legacy processes and migrate faxing to the cloud. By leveraging our patented cloud technology, government agencies can modernize operations, reduce IT and infrastructure costs, and become cloud first.
4. MFP and Device Integrations
Multi-function printers and connected scanning devices remain a critical entry point for document workflows in healthcare organizations. Director of Global Sales at ETHERFAX Ken Romo demonstrated how organizations can integrate multi-function printers such as Lexmark and Canon MFPs and Ricoh Device Scanners directly to ETHERFAX. This approach eliminates the need for analog fax lines and reduces dependence on legacy servers.
In addition to modernizing fax infrastructure, these devices also play a critical role in enabling AI-driven workflows. By scanning documents into a digital format at the point of capture, organizations create a foundation for automation—where documents can be converted from unstructured to structured data, analyzed using AI, and automatically classified and routed to the appropriate teams for further processing.
By connecting existing devices to our cloud-based network, organizations can enhance efficiency and reliability without overhauling their current workflows.
Advancing Healthcare Communications with ETHERFAX
Overall, HIMSS reinforced the ongoing need for secure, reliable document exchange across the healthcare ecosystem. As organizations continue to adopt AI, improve interoperability, and meet evolving compliance requirements, cloud-based technologies play a critical role in enabling these advancements while driving operational efficiency.
ETHERFAX remains committed to helping healthcare organizations modernize their document workflows with innovative solutions that are secure, scalable, and built for the future.
Thank you to everyone who visited the ETHERFAX team during the event. We look forward to continuing the conversation and supporting your digital transformation journey.