The Social Health Authority (SHA) has spent about Sh500 million on technology services over the past two years, while more than 42,000 digital devices have been distributed to public health facilities as the government expands its digital health system.
Digital Health Agency (DHA) Chief Executive Officer Anthony Lenaiyara gave the figures during the National Health Summit at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, where he defended the government’s spending on digital health and explained how technology is being used to manage SHA services.
Lenaiyara said the amount paid for technology services was far below claims that the government had committed tens of billions of shillings to the system.
“For the last two years, Sh500 million has been paid for this technology that we were told that we were going to pay Sh100 billion,” Lenaiyara said.
He said payments to technology providers were made under set regulations, with SHA paying Sh25 for every active member under the arrangement.
Lenaiyara said the DHA had developed a “digital superhighway” made up of 43 systems to support the government’s universal health coverage programme.
A major part of the system has involved equipping public health facilities with digital devices.
“As of today, we have supplied 42,327 gadgets. If you walk to any dispensary today, in the lowest village you can be, you will find a gadget,” he said.
The DHA CEO said health facilities had not been required to pay for the devices, which are part of the digital infrastructure being rolled out across the country.
He said the technology had also changed how public health facilities handle SHA claims and account for payments.
Under the former National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), Lenaiyara said claims were processed using physical files that had to move from one office to another before approval.
The new digital system allows claims to be followed electronically, making it easier to track the process and improve accountability at facility level.
Lenaiyara also linked the digital changes to a rise in the amount of SHA money going to public health facilities.
He said public hospitals previously received about 35 per cent of payments under the old system, compared with about 62 per cent under the current arrangement.
The digital health system also includes a unique patient identification platform that uses national identification details and fingerprints.
According to Lenaiyara, the system has reduced the need for physical cards and allows patients to have a consistent health record that can be accessed across different health facilities.
Patients using the SHA app can also access information such as claims, prescriptions, doctors and other health records.
Technology has also been introduced to help track health commodities, with the system allowing the government to follow medicines from manufacturers, through distribution, to the point where they are given to patients.
Lenaiyara said the system is aimed at reducing losses, strengthening accountability and helping prevent unauthorised or counterfeit medicines from reaching patients.
The digital health programme has further introduced telemedicine and health information exchange systems, allowing health workers to share information and consult with colleagues in other facilities.
The shift to digital processing has also reduced the number of employees needed to handle claims, Lenaiyara said.
He said the former NHIF had close to 1,700 employees, while the current organisation has about 850 staff.
Lenaiyara cited the SHA Claims Management Office as an example of how technology has increased the volume of work handled with fewer employees.
He said the office has 35 employees but is able to process about 26,000 claims every day, translating to close to one million claims in a month.
“We have reduced the staff by half because of technology, and we are processing more claims than were being processed by 1,800 staff. That is how efficiency looks, and that is how transformation is framed,” Lenaiyara said.