Maine's largest healthcare provider, MaineHealth, has apologized after a technical glitch caused over 500 living patients to receive letters announcing their own deaths. The error occurred on October 20 due to a software malfunction, the company said. This was reported by NBC News, writes UNN.
Details
As a result of the incident, 521 patients received official death notifications, which are usually sent only in the event of an actual death, along with instructions for next of kin.
MaineHealth sincerely regrets this error
The company emphasized that none of the patients were mistakenly marked as deceased in their medical records, and the error did not affect treatment or access to medical services.
After the incident, MaineHealth promptly corrected the technical malfunction and sent apologies to all affected.
The non-profit healthcare system MaineHealth unites eight hospitals, including a Level 1 trauma center, and has over 20,000 employees in Maine and New Hampshire.