Kenya is accelerating the shift from paper-based medical records to integrated digital healthcare systems as part of a reform expected to improve patient care, strengthen accountability, and reduce fraud in the health sector.
Faith Okwisa Okwayo, Chairperson of the Chronic Disease Society of Kenya and Director of Partnerships at Afyanalytics, says the transformation will let healthcare providers access patient histories across facilities, improve claims verification, and support continuity of treatment.
Speaking to Radio Generation on Monday 12 October 2026, Okwayo said the initiative is part of Kenya’s wider commitment to universal health coverage (UHC), which seeks to ensure people access essential health services without suffering financial hardship.
The reform is backed by the Digital Health Act, 2023, which established the legal framework for the Digital Health Agency (DHA) and the development of an integrated national digital health ecosystem.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) identifies digital health and stronger health information systems as important components of Kenya’s efforts to advance UHC.
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“The Digital Health Act 2023 led to the formation of the Digital Health Agency, which is the custodian of this transformation,” Okwayo said.
Kenya’s digital health ambitions predate the legislation. The Ministry of Health introduced a National eHealth Policy in 2016 to guide the use of information and communication technology in healthcare, including the development of interoperable systems and stronger protection of patient information.
The latest reforms aim to link medical service delivery with health financing through Health Management Information Systems (HMIS), enabling electronic processing of patient information and insurance claims.
According to the Ministry of Health, 6,228 public health facilities had undergone digital transformation by June 2026, representing 93 per cent of public facilities. The ministry also reported that 5,078 facilities were operating on the SHA HMIS, with 2,978 actively submitting claims electronically.
The government is also transitioning healthcare providers from the Social Health Authority (SHA) Provider Portal to an integrated HMIS platform. In early October, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the transition was expected to be completed by October 30, 2026.
The Chronic Disease Society Chairperson maintained that the systems would capture information as patients interact with healthcare workers, reducing the need for staff to enter records manually later.
“Why are we going digital? So that we have real-time data tracking and sustainable, seamless point-of-care transfer,” she stated.
She added that integration would help verify medical diagnoses, confirm the credentials of healthcare professionals and strengthen the monitoring of claims submitted to SHA.
The systems are also expected to improve medicine authentication by linking relevant information with regulatory processes, helping authorities identify unregistered practitioners and potentially counterfeit or substandard medicines.
However, Okwayo maintained that interoperability- the ability of different systems to exchange and use information- was central to achieving these benefits.
She cited the case of a child receiving treatment for brain cancer whose medical scans were reportedly lost during a hospital’s transition from paper records to digital systems. The missing information made it difficult for doctors to track previous treatment and forced the family to repeat investigations.
“The whole essence of the migration for HMIS systems is to preserve patient registries and to make sure that you have a single record that can communicate anywhere.”
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A connected system would let authorised healthcare providers retrieve relevant patient histories when people move between facilities, potentially reducing repeated tests and treatment delays.
Okwayo said digital records could also strengthen pharmacovigilance by helping healthcare workers monitor adverse drug reactions, assess treatment effectiveness and identify the practitioners involved in particular procedures.
The Kenya National Health Facility Registry, under the DHA, listed 18,839 health facilities nationally in its online registry.
Despite the expected benefits, successful implementation will depend on reliable system integration, accurate records, staff preparedness, and safeguards for sensitive patient information.
Okwayo concluded that the ultimate objective was to build a connected healthcare system in which medical information follows the patient, supporting better clinical decisions and more accountable delivery of services.