The Ministry of Health has called on all healthcare providers to register for the National Health Information Exchange (HIE) ahead of October 1 Social Health Authority (SHA) rollout.
The ministry in a notice said HIE is a shared service that will consolidate and harmonise patient records across all levels of care and make data portability a reality.
"HIE will enable the creation of encrypted digital patient records, allowing healthcare providers both public and private across the country to access a patient's medical history upon authorisation and consent from the patient," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, this will in turn result in faster diagnosis, smoother referrals and more accurate treatments in compliance with the data protection laws.
"The HIE is an initiative under the Universal Health Coverage digitisation programme that is a cornerstone of digital transformation of the health sector in Kenya," the ministry said.
Safaricom is leading a consortium of companies to implement an Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System (IHTS System).
Safaricom on Saturday said this is aimed at transforming lives by the use of technology to address some of the country's pressing challenges.
According to CEO Peter Ndengwa, the system will help advance the ambitions of the Ministry of Health to ensure that every Kenyan has access to quality health care.
He said one of IHTS 's significant components is the implementation of HIE to drive interoperability of health systems across the country.
The initiative aims to unify patient records across health facilities in the country.
Ndengwa said Safaricom will invest Sh104,808,136,478 over 10 years to implement, maintain and support the IHTS System.
