hospitals

Gaza's Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza war has surpassed 74,000, according to a report by The Hindu. The ministry's figures, compiled from hospitals and morgues across the territory, remain the most widely cited tally of casualties in the conflict, which has drawn sustained international attention and calls for a ceasefire.

Sudanese doctors say the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces looted and wrecked a hospital in a town that has recently been recaptured, deepening concerns over the collapse of medical services in areas contested during Sudan's civil war. The allegations add to a pattern of accusations against the RSF of targeting health facilities, while aid groups warn that damaged hospitals leave civilians without urgent care.

Sudanese doctors say the Rapid Support Forces looted a hospital in a town in North Kordofan that had recently been recaptured by the army. The accusation highlights the toll of Sudan's war on medical facilities, with health workers warning that looted hospitals leave civilians without urgent care as fighting continues across the region.

Sudanese doctors say the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces looted a hospital in Sodari, in Sudan's North Kordofan region. The Sudan Doctors' Union reports the facility was stripped of equipment and supplies, worsening an already dire health crisis as fighting between the RSF and the army continues across the country. Health facilities have repeatedly come under attack or occupation during the two-year war.

Pharmacists in the Gaza Strip are improvising medical treatments as the Israel-Gaza conflict leaves hospitals and pharmacies short of essential supplies. With deliveries of medicines and equipment disrupted by the fighting, health workers are compounding or substituting drugs and adapting available materials to keep treating the wounded and sick. The report highlights the strain on Gaza's health system, which aid agencies warn is close to collapse amid ongoing hostilities and blocked humanitarian access.

Sudanese doctors say the Rapid Support Forces looted and wrecked a hospital in Sodari, in North Kordofan state. The report adds to a pattern of attacks on medical facilities during Sudan's civil war, which has devastated the country's health system and displaced millions since fighting began in April 2023 between the RSF and the army.

The FDA has issued a warning that black clams imported from Ecuador are linked to a hepatitis A outbreak in the United States, with 30 people hospitalized so far. Consumers are being urged to avoid the shellfish as health officials investigate the source of contamination and track additional cases connected to the product.

AI tools hospitals use when submitting insurance claims added $942 million to US healthcare costs over two years, according to a Blue Cross Blue Shield analysis. The study found a sharp increase in patients being documented as having complex conditions, with no evidence of corresponding improvements in care, raising concerns that automation is inflating charges and prompting calls for closer oversight of hospital coding practices.

A multistate E. coli O26 outbreak has been linked to Graziers raw milk cheese produced by Sierra Nevada Cheese Company. Thirteen people across nine states have fallen ill, eight have been hospitalized, and three developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney complication. Most of those affected are children aged five and under, raising concern among food safety advocates and parents.

Andy Burnham, Greater Manchester's mayor, has warned that "broken social care will in the end break the NHS". He argued that the crisis in care services places mounting pressure on hospitals, making sustained investment and reform of social care essential to protecting the health service. The warning adds to ongoing political debate in the UK over how to fund and fix the care system.

An E. coli O26 outbreak linked to Sierra Nevada Graziers raw milk cheese has sickened 13 people in California, Nevada, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee and Utah. Eight people have been hospitalized, including three who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious kidney complication. Health officials are investigating the outbreak, which has raised renewed concern over the safety of unpasteurized dairy products sold across state lines.

Under President Trump, federal scientific funding has become a recurring political battleground, with grant decisions and agency budgets repeatedly contested. Massachusetts, with its dense concentration of universities, hospitals and research institutions, has been hit especially hard by the disruptions. Observers say the uncertainty is forcing research institutions across the state to reassess projects and funding assumptions.

Polish private healthcare provider Enel-Med has confirmed a breach of data confidentiality, adding to a series of security incidents hitting the country's healthcare sector. The company acknowledged that patient data confidentiality was compromised, though details on the scale of the breach and how many people were affected have not yet been made public. The news is drawing attention in Poland, where hospitals and medical institutions have repeatedly been targeted by cyberattacks in recent years.

CDC vaccine policy recommendations have ground to a halt under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to news reports. The stalemate means the agency's usual guidance process on immunizations is effectively frozen, raising concerns among public health experts about delays to vaccine recommendations that hospitals, doctors and state health departments rely on for immunization campaigns.

Minnesota-based health system Allina Health has agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle a federal case over a data breach. The settlement resolves claims tied to patient information being exposed, marking one of the larger healthcare data security penalties in the region. Discussion centers on hospitals' growing vulnerability to cyberattacks and the rising cost of failing to protect patient records.

Blue Cross Blue Shield reports that hospitals' use of AI tools drove an additional $942 million in healthcare spending over a two-year period. The insurer attributes part of the recent rise in healthcare costs to hospitals adopting AI in their operations, a finding likely to fuel debate about whether AI in medicine is lowering or raising costs.

Cost-saving Medicaid meal delivery programs, which bring food to vulnerable patients to help keep them out of hospitals and nursing homes, are under threat from budget cuts and policy uncertainty. Advocates warn that trimming these services could ultimately raise healthcare costs, since the meals are far cheaper than institutional care for the people who rely on them.

A baby girl in Port Richey, Florida, was hospitalized with a blood alcohol level of 0.383, according to court documents, and her parents have been arrested in connection with the case. The alleged reading is several times the legal driving limit for an adult, and the case is drawing widespread shock and anger as details emerge about how the infant was harmed.

The Washington Post reports the case of a woman who spent hours waiting in a hospital emergency room, left without receiving any treatment, and was still billed for the visit. The story highlights ongoing frustration with emergency room wait times and surprise medical billing practices in the US, where patients say they are charged even when no care is provided.