In Kenya, public discourse around healthcare consistently centres on two pressing issues: cost and access. Citizens ask—and rightly so—why healthcare remains expensive, why waiting times are often excessive, and why medical records are frequently missing or inconsistent. At the Digital Health Agency (DHA), the institution mandated to lead Kenya’s digital health transformation, we see these not just as systemic challenges, but as opportunities to fundamentally re-engineer the health system for the better.
At its core, healthcare is a complex ecosystem—where patients, providers, insurers, regulators, and data systems are deeply interconnected. Yet for decades, this ecosystem has operated through analogue processes: paper-based records, manual claims, long queues, and fragmented information. These inefficiencies have contributed to rising costs for patients, increased operational waste for healthcare providers, and significant financial leakages for government.
Digitisation presents a transformative opportunity—to eliminate these inefficiencies by building a modern, transparent, interoperable, and data-driven health system that serves all Kenyans equitably.
A digitised healthcare system is, above all, efficient. It eliminates duplication, reduces delays, and streamlines the patient journey. Imagine a scenario where a patient’s medical history seamlessly follows them from a clinic in Marsabit to a referral hospital in Nairobi. With interoperable digital records, doctors no longer waste valuable time and resources repeating tests already conducted elsewhere, while insurers can process claims faster, supported by a portable and verifiable digital trail.
This vision is becoming a reality through Kenya’s new Shared Health Records System, powered by the Health Information Exchange. This secure, unified platform is anchored on the principle of “one patient, one record”—and serves as the digital backbone of a responsive and modern healthcare system.
Digitisation reduces the cost of care—not by cutting corners, but by eliminating inefficiencies. For years, a significant portion of healthcare expenditure has been lost to administrative overheads, unverifiable claims, and outright fraud.
For the first time, advanced digital tools powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data analytics are detecting fraud patterns and stopping fraudulent transactions before they occur. Every interaction—whether by a patient, provider, or facility—is recorded in real time, embedding verification at every stage of care: from biometric patient registration to digital claims processing. The result? Ghost patients, inflated billing, and unnecessary repeat procedures are being systematically eliminated.
Solutions like the Practice360 app are also revolutionising facility-level operations. By integrating patient data, billing, claims management, and reporting into a single platform, healthcare providers can operate more efficiently, ensuring that more resources are channeled directly into delivering care—where they matter most.
In a digital system, every transaction creates a data trail. These digital footprints can be analyzed to inform evidence-based policy, monitor the quality of care, and track the use of resources in real time.
For patients, this means transparency—clarity on the services they are entitled to and visibility into what has been paid on their behalf. For government, it offers unprecedented oversight—ensuring that public resources are being deployed efficiently and delivering value.
Ultimately, digital transformation is not just about adopting new technologies—it’s about restoring trust in the health system. When patients experience faster, more affordable, and accountable care, their confidence in the system grows. When providers are assured of timely payments and reduced administrative burden, they can focus more on delivering quality services. And when policymakers have accurate, real-time data, they can better plan and implement universal health coverage.
At the Digital Health Agency, we are engineering this future with intentionality and rigour. We are applying proven principles of system design: modularity for seamless integration and scalability; redundancy for reliability and service continuity; and reach to ensure that no Kenyan is left behind.
From national e-health registries to the #147 USSD code—which allows even citizens without smartphones to access their health benefits—the foundation of Kenya’s digital health infrastructure is already in place.
Digitisation is not the destination—it is the vehicle. A vehicle that enables us to deliver a healthier, more efficient, and more equitable healthcare system. A system where waste is replaced with value, where trust is rebuilt through transparency, and where every Kenyan—regardless of location or income—can access the care they deserve.