Yet a KOMO 4 News investigation has uncovered hundreds of local patients who may have suffered irreparable harm, after their medical charts were tossed in to a dumpster.

They weren't shredded. Just dumped.

And the patients whose private lives are contained in these files are horrified.

"Oh my God, can you imagine if somebody got their hands on this," says patient Alicia Whiteside.

KOMO 4 News returned Whiteside's file to her. And it took her some time to absorb just how much personal information was in the file.

"Geez, all my blood test results," she said. "This stinks, it really does."

We also tracked down patient Lisa Wright and returned her file.

"Wow!" said Wright as she looked through her chart. "Talks about weight, talks about my private, private life."

Wright says she feels embarrassed, angry and feels betrayed that any doctor could let this happen.

"And I think part of the oath that they take is do no harm, well this could be extremely harmful," she said.

Financial Records Found Too

In addition to medical files, there were boxes and boxes of financial records in the dumpster.

There were bank statements, and patient's credit card receipts with the account numbers clearly visible.

To an identity thief, the dumpster is a treasure trove.

The financial records, the credit card receipts and the patient files once belonged to Dr. Walter Crinnion, a local naturopath.

"I don't really have the words for this," Dr. Crinnion said.

When KOMO 4 News showed him where his old files were, Dr. Crinnion broke down in tears.

"When people come to see me I take it as a sacred trust," says Crinnion "and to have this kind of thing happen it's hard to see. Obviously the people that are now in charge of those files do not hold them in the same light I do."

'That's Irresponsible'

A year ago Dr. Crinnion sold his Kirkland practice, including all the files, to the HOC Corporation of Canada.

His old practice became part of the HOC Health Center in Kenmore.

The clinic's medical director, Dr. Zayd Ratansi, is now responsible for the files.

They were stored at a Totem Lake storage facility.

But the storage company put a lien on the files, and dumped them.

The manager tells KOMO 4 News that Dr. Ratansi or someone at the Kenmore clinic failed to pay rent on the storage unit for more than 90 days.

"That's irresponsible," says patient Lisa Wright. "I mean that's inexcusable. A doctor of all people, medical files of all things."

'I Want Answers Yesterday'

Patient Alicia Whiteside wants answers.

"I do want answers. I want answers yesterday."

We wanted answers too.

We went to the clinic. No one could explain why the storage bills weren't paid.

KOMO 4 News made repeated calls to the company's corporate office in Vancouver, B.C., and attempted to contact Dr. Ratansi directly. No one has responded to us.

The storage company manager assured us he sent the clinic a number of notices, some by certified mail, demanding the clinic pay up and retrieve the files.

KOMO 4 News has learned the outstanding bill was no more than a few hundred dollars.

"I wonder why they didn't pay the bill," says Dr. Walter Crinnion. "As you say, the bill was no more than a couple of hundred dollars. I can't believe they didn't hold the files more valuable than that. Come on, that's a piddly sum."

Saved From The Landfill

Where are the files now?

We learned they were just hours from going to the landfill.

So, we confronted the storage company and convinced them to save them.

Sadly, many patient charts are now in complete disarray.

But KOMO 4 News made sure every file was been rescued - two full truckloads in all.

"I'm very, very angry," says Alicia Whiteside. "I will seek the advice of my attorney, I have to, somebody's got to stop this."

Our investigation has now touched off a statewide investigation.

The State Department of Health is now trying to determine if Dr. Ratansi or the HOC Corporation broke any laws by allowing those records to be thrown away.

For now though, all of the medical charts have been returned to the HOC Clinic in Kenmore.

The State Department of Health plans to send an investigator to the clinic to make sure the files are secure.