US EditionMaineHealth Apologizes for Sending Death Notices to 500+ Living People
MaineHealth sent 531 death notification letters by mistake due to a computer error and has apologized, assuring patients were never marked deceased in their records.
- On October 20, MaineHealth sent 531 letters notifying more than 500 living patients' next of kin about estate resolution, mistakenly indicating they were deceased.
- MaineHealth blamed the incident on an error in the organization's computer system, and one Sanford woman told local media she received one of the letters Thursday.
- The mailed notice begins by extending condolences to the recipient's family and instructs next steps for Patient account information, noting families assisting with estates are not responsible for the debt.
- A recipient called Patient Financial Services to say she was not dead and recounted a staffer said, `I'm glad to hear that you're still alive and well,' calling the letter 'pretty upsetting.'
- The health system issued apologies and sent apology letters to all affected patients, assuring that none were listed as deceased in medical records and the issue is fully resolved.
27 Articles
27 Articles
531 (Living) Patients Get News of Their Death
Some days it's just not worth picking up the mail: bills, junk, and if you're particularly unlucky, a notice of your own death. Such is the case for 531 quite-alive customers of MaineHealth , who were sent letters directed to their next of kin with premature instructions on how to handle...
Health system mistakenly sends death notices to 500 living patients
(NewsNation) — More than 500 living patients received letters indicating they were deceased and included information on how their next of kin could resolve their estates following a computer system error. MaineHealth Medical System, which includes hospitals and clinics in Maine and New Hampshire, said the error occurred on Oct. 20 when its software for getting estate vendor letters malfunctioned, according to multiple reports. Notices were sent …
'I'm Not Dead!' Maine Hospital Informs Living Patients of Their Demise
(MedPage Today) -- Maine's largest health system sent letters to hundreds of patients about their deaths. Those patients were alive enough to read them. MaineHealth, based in Portland, is apologizing for sending letters to 531 still-living patients...
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