How to use cover page templates

What to put on a fax cover page

Keep sensitive details off the cover page itself. A name and a reference are usually enough; diagnoses, account numbers and similar information belong in the pages behind it.

• Your organisation's name and logo.
• To: the recipient's name, department and fax number.
• From: your name, phone number and fax number, so they can reach you if pages are missing.
• Date and the total number of pages, including the cover page.
• Subject or reference, such as a file number, claim number or patient reference used by the recipient.
• A short message saying what the fax is and any action needed.
• A confidentiality notice asking anyone who receives it in error to notify you and destroy the copy.

Use different templates for different jobs

One generic template is better than none, but a few specific ones save more time. Ideas for Canadian organisations:

• A clinic referral template with a stronger confidentiality notice and space for the receiving clinic's reference.
• A legal correspondence template noting that the contents may be privileged.
• An accounts template for invoices and remittances.
• A bilingual English and French template if you correspond with offices in Quebec or New Brunswick.

Keep templates up to date

Review your templates whenever a phone number, address or logo changes, and remove ones nobody uses. On a team account, agree who is allowed to edit them so staff are not surprised by changes. Out-of-date contact details on a cover page are a common reason replies go astray.

It is also worth sending a test fax with each new template to a colleague or a second number before using it with clients. Check that the logo is readable in black and white, that nothing important sits too close to the page edge and that the confidentiality notice is not so small it disappears.