MaineHealth, the largest health provider in the state of Maine, mistakenly sent condolence letters to more than 500 living patients, erroneously informing them of their supposed deaths.

According to local news station News Center Maine, the incident occurred on October 20 after a software glitch in the system that generates automatic communications for the suppliers of goods.

In total, 521 patients received notifications intended only for cases of death.

“MaineHealth sincerely regrets this error,” the organization said in a statement.

The patients were never declared deceased in their records.

The health system clarified that none of the affected patients were marked as deceased in their electronic health records, and that the error had no clinical or administrative impact.

“MaineHealth deeply regrets this error and has sent apology letters to all affected patients,” a spokesperson for the institution added. “At no point were these patients listed as deceased in their medical records, and the problem has been completely resolved.”

The non-profit system has nine hospitals, including a Level 1 trauma center, and employs more than 20,000 workers in the states of Maine and New Hampshire.

Background: Other similar errors in US healthcare systems

This type of incident is not unprecedented. In January 2021, the Saint Alphonsus healthcare system in Idaho suffered a cyberattack that resulted in erroneous letters being sent to patients who were falsely notified of their deaths. In that instance, the institution explained that a "mail merge issue" had caused the incorrect notifications and apologized for the confusion. The statement added that the initial goal was to warn of a security breach and offer credit monitoring services to affected patients.