San Raffaele Hospital

San Raffaele Hospital is a private, university‑affiliated medical centre located in Milan, Italy. It operates as an acute‑care facility that provides a broad range of clinical services, including emergency medicine, surgery, and specialised treatments. The hospital is closely linked to Vita‑Salute San Raffaele University, allowing it to combine patient care with medical education and scientific research. Its clinical programmes cover disciplines such as cardiology, oncology, neurology, organ transplantation and diabetes care.

Beyond direct patient care, the institution maintains a strong research orientation, hosting laboratories and clinical trials that investigate new therapies and diagnostic approaches. This integration of research and clinical practice enables the hospital to offer innovative treatments that are often not available elsewhere in the national health system. The hospital also contributes to the training of physicians, nurses and other health professionals through its academic affiliations. Undergraduate and postgraduate medical students regularly rotate through its departments as part of their curriculum.

In May 2020 the hospital suffered a cyberattack in which attackers gained unauthorized access to systems and exfiltrated sensitive data, including patient names, tax codes, email addresses and plaintext credentials. The breach remained undetected for two days until a public disclosure by a Twitter activist forced the institution to acknowledge the incident, after which it initially downplayed the scope by claiming the data originated from an obsolete training system. The episode revealed shortcomings in data protection, notably insecure credential storage and a failure to meet GDPR‑mandated breach notification timelines, prompting criticism of the hospital’s cybersecurity governance.

San Raffaele Hospital is frequently cited as a referral centre for complex medical cases, attracting patients from across Italy and abroad who seek specialised interventions. The institution participates in multiple European research consortia and contributes to clinical guidelines in fields such as cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its commitment to translating laboratory findings into bedside practice has resulted in several patented technologies and therapeutic protocols. The hospital also maintains a biobank that stores biological samples for future research, supporting longitudinal studies on disease progression.