Fix healthcare hitch
The chaos playing out in the health sector is causing untold suffering to patients, and yet this could, with a bit more meticulous planning, have been averted. The mess has been blamed on the rush to install a new health management system.
Experts say it has 17 components that would have required at least two years to establish. It should have been launched in 2026, after carrying out the necessary checks to ensure its readiness and efficacy.
The government rolled out the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) on October 1, only three months after signing a deal with a Safaricom-led consortium for an electronic information system. As a result, patients in need of dialysis, chemotherapy, and life-saving surgeries have been forced to dig deeper into their pockets for urgent alternative solutions.
Acquired at a massive cost of Sh104. 8 billion, the Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System (IHTS), should actually help to ease the management of the public healthcare system. The huge investment has, unfortunately, only ushered in challenges that are hampering the delivery of medical care. Access to quality and affordable healthcare is a right Kenyans are entitled to, and which the government must help to realise.
Since the deactivation of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) system on October 1, hospitals unable to process claims are now demanding cash payments, as patients suffer.
Senior Digital Health Agency (DHA) officials have confirmed that when the IHTS went live, only five out of its 17 components were functioning, and even then not at 100 per cent.
The Health ministry says the new system is expected to raise Sh133 billion annually, which will be a significant increase from the Sh78.8 billion the NHIF generated in the 2023/2024 financial year. However, illnesses will not wait for the experts to make the system work. The technical challenges must be quickly fixed to enable the new system to operate efficiently.
