Lost files may hide circumstances surrounding boy’s death

In nearly any industry, there are often adverse effects when files go missing or are accidentally destroyed. If the information within has not been saved elsewhere, the data may never be recovered.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, an Australian family believes that they will never fully know what caused their 10 year old son's death. The source said that Ezekiel Howard passed away four months after being cleared by doctors at Neapean Hospital. After heart scans, the family was sent home, told that his heart was fine after Howard exhibited stroke-like symptoms.

However, Howard died not long after, and his autopsy found a small hole in his heart and a thickened left ventricle. The family might not know exactly where the diagnosis went wrong, though, as two month's worth of heart scans were accidently deleted. This may be avoided in the future, member of Parliament and health spokesman Doctor Andrew McDonald told the Herald, as many hospitals are turning to digitization.

Companies looking to ensure that their files remain secure and accessible should consider using conversion services to transfer tangible records to computer databases. The tools allow images of the records to be captured then saved electronically. This can not only help preserve documents, but allow for easier sharing.

Brought to you by Image One Corporation, providing government and industry compliance solutions since 1994.