Patient records stolen from Groningen hospital

Medical records from the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG) that were supposed to be destroyed, ended up in the spotlight on regional broadcaster RTV Noord. The program shows the workers of the employment company Synergon handling old x-rays carelessly. Synergon has reported the theft to the police. UMCG uses a company named Virol to store or destroy old medical files. Virol outsourced the destruction of old x-rays and medical reports to Synergon. "Somebody took those files and that is pure theft!" says the company spokesman on Thursday. An outside firm was hired to do an internal investigation of the incident. The employees of Synergon have been joking while separating the x-rays and handling paper patient records, reports RTV Noord. X-rays with funny commentary were also supposedly circulating around the workplace. UMCG immediately shut the destructive process down once learned about the incident. The outcome of the internal investigation will determine the future between UMCG, Virol and Synergon, the hospital said Wednesday. The files to be destroyed were from the Department of Radiology. Given the very large number of files to be destroyed, the chances of tracing data on an individual level is very unlikely, says UMCG.