County governments are being urged to endure health systems are fully digitized in a bid to ensure citizens have access to affordable and efficient healthcare system.
Speaking during the launch of Digital Health Agency Strategic Plan on the sidelines of the 9th Devolution Conference in Homa Bay County, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the national government is working with counties in rolling out of digital health infrastructure, build capacity, and ensure data governance, privacy and cyber security.
“Universal Healthcare remains one of the most important powerful tools for advancing equity, justice and inclusion yet many Kenyans especially in the remote and underserved areas still face barriers to timely, quality and affordable healthcare. Digitization offers a unique opportunity to bridge these gaps,” said Duale.
According to Duale, devolution has been a game changer in aligning health priorities with the local realities and counties are best placed to implement innovations that meet the specific needs of their populations.
He said digitization is a core pillar in the governments’ health sector reforms evident by the roll out of Taifa Care digital platform which integrates healthcare records, telemedicine, insurance management, and facility data and ensures prevention of fraud to improve patient safety.
“Inclusion and justice in healthcare must be embedded in our system design. We want to ensure our platforms are accessible to people with disabilities, available in local languages, gender responsive and affordable to all. No Kenyan should be left behind in the digital health revolution regardless of their location, income or identity,” he added.
Additionally, since October last year, Duale said Social Health Authority (SHA) has disbursed a total of Ksh 57.7 billion to health facilities, out of which Ksh 49.7b was channeled to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and emergency chronic and critical illness while Ksh 6.7 billion supported the primary healthcare fund.
