America probably doesn’t have the WORST healthcare system in the world, but sometimes it seems like the most comical. (Sigh.)
A large healthcare system in Maine is apologizing after sending letters to 531 patients in hospitals and healthcare clinics, telling them that they’re DEAD.
The letters expressed condolences, and included information on how their “next of kin” could resolve their estates. (So YOU could break it to them, “Barbara, I hate that you have to hear this from me, but, I’m dead.”)
The company is a nonprofit called MaineHealth, and a spokesperson says that there was an error in its computer system that led to the mistake.
They said they “sincerely regret” the goof, and want to assure everyone that the patients were never listed as deceased in their medical records.
(Believe it or not, this has happened before. In January of 2021, Saint Alphonsus, an Idaho health system, mistakenly sent patients letters stating they were dead and that their personal information may have been stolen. Which, I guess, would be less of a concern if you were dead.)
(ABC News)
