A large health care system in Maine said it "sincerely regrets" an error that mistakenly sent condolence letters to patients about their deaths.

MaineHealth, a nonprofit system that includes hospitals, health care facilities and clinics in Maine and New Hampshire, sent letters to 531 patients, expressing condolences that included information on how next of kin could resolve their estates.

A spokesperson for the health system told ABC News that an error in its computer system for generating estate vendor letters led to the mistake.

The spokesperson added that the patients were never listed as deceased in their medical records.

The problem has since been resolved and apology letters were sent to all patients affected by the error, according to the spokesperson.

"MaineHealth sincerely re

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