Overview
- MaineHealth says an Oct. 20 automation error generated estate-notification letters via a third-party vendor to 521 people.
- The organization reports it fixed the malfunction, mailed apologies to every recipient, and is reviewing the tool following recent digital-records updates.
- Officials say no patients were listed as deceased in electronic records, no care was affected, and no protected health information was exposed.
- Some recipients told local media the messages were shocking and upsetting, prompting calls to confirm their status.
- Reports differ on the total, with outlets citing 521 or 531 letters, at a system spanning multiple hospitals in Maine and New Hampshire.