Another healthcare facility, this one an orthopedic clinic in Raleigh, NC, has become the victim of thieves stealing old x-ray films for silver -- but this time with a twist.
Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic contracted with a vendor to convert old x-ray films of approximately 17,300 patients into digital format. Clinic administrators began following up with the vendor when several months had gone by and they hadn't received any digitized data.
Instead of the films being digitized, they were apparently sold to a recycling company in Ohio for the silver they contained, and the films themselves were ultimately destroyed. In an announcement on its website, the clinic said that patients have been notified because the films contained names and birthdates.
The theft was reported in March to state and local federal law enforcement. Raleigh Orthopaedic has provided a toll-free number (800-358-5735) for anyone to report information about the theft and to handle questions from former patients.
