The Ministry of Health has clarified the transition from the Social Health Authority (SHA) provider portal to the Health Management Information System (HMIS), saying the changes are aimed at creating a more integrated digital healthcare system.
In a press statement issued on Friday, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the transition is intended to reduce duplication of work by allowing hospitals to use their existing HMIS as the primary system for managing healthcare services and related information.
Since the establishment of SHA, the Digital Health Agency has provided healthcare providers with a portal for submitting and transmitting claims.
However, hospitals have been required to operate two separate systems — their own HMIS for day-to-day operations and the SHA portal for claims and related transactions.
The Ministry says this has created additional administrative work and, in some cases, contributed to longer processing and waiting times for patients.
Under the new arrangement, HMIS will be designed to integrate and communicate securely with SHA and other relevant health-sector systems, meaning healthcare workers will not have to repeatedly enter or transfer the same information between different platforms.
The Ministry says the transition is expected to reduce patient waiting times, improve continuity of care, speed up the processing of admissions, consultations, procedures, billing and claims, and create greater transparency through digital records.
Hospitals are also expected to benefit from a single integrated workflow, better management of patients, staff, facilities, supplies, medicines, equipment and financial processes, as well as improved data quality and reporting.
For SHA and other healthcare payers, the integration is expected to support more accurate and timely claims, reduce manual processing, strengthen verification and fraud controls, and facilitate faster claims processing and payment.
Duale said the objective is not simply to replace one portal with another, but to connect the different components of Kenya's healthcare ecosystem.
He said hospitals should ultimately have one core system through which healthcare workers manage patient care and hospital operations, while the system securely communicates with external platforms including SHA, medicines and medical supplies systems, equipment systems and other health-sector platforms.
The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged that the transition will require technical integration, adjustments and support for healthcare workers and facilities.
He said the focus should be on ensuring a smooth implementation so that hospitals receive the necessary support while the system improves efficiency and accountability across the health sector.
