ALKHOBAR: In a crowded refugee hospital in southern Lebanon, artificial intelligence has become an unexpected ally for exhausted doctors struggling to manage overwhelming patient loads.
At Al-Hamshari Hospital, near Sidon’s Ein El-Hilweh camp, the scent of antiseptic mingles with diesel fumes from backup generators. Serving more than 4,000 patients each month with just 56 doctors and 31 nurses, many of them Palestinians excluded from Lebanon’s national healthcare system, the hospital is perpetually stretched thin.
Yet amid the chaos, a small innovation is reshaping care: a generative AI assistant that listens, writes, and guides.
Doctors examine young patients inside a pediatric ward at Al-Hamshari Hospital. (Supplied)
The pilot, led by UK-Qatar healthtech startup Rhazes AI, represents the first structured trial of an AI clinical assistant in a conflict-affected healthcare system. Operating in Al-Hamshari’s outpatient and emergency departments under the Palestine Red Crescent Society, it tests whether AI can ease the crushing workload of frontline doctors.
