Imagine walking into any health facility in Kenya and the health worker attending to you already knows your medical history no digging through old prescriptions, no repeat scans, no explaining your condition from scratch, because your records, with your consent, are already there.
This is what the Christian Health Association of Kenya (CHAK) and its network of Member Health Units are working to build. As Dr Joyce Wamicwe put it during a recent CHAK town hall with member facilities: “What the mind perceives, technology can sort out. Look at the glass as half full, not half empty.”
Kenya is moving toward a fully digitized health system, where your health information can move with you, securely, and only with your permission, between facilities. That means faster service, fewer repeated tests, and health workers who have the full picture when treating you. As CHAK Group Secretary and CEO, Dr Barasa affirmed: ‘’CHAK will support its member facilities to digitize, in service of achieving Universal Health Coverage for all’’.
Health Cabinet Secretary Hon. Aden Duale has directed all health facilities to transition from the SHA provider portal to certified, interoperable Health Management Information Systems (HMIS) that support SHA claims and connect to the National Health Information Exchange by September 1, 2026.
At this week’s CHAK Member Health Units’ town hall, Dr Wamicwe walked facilities through the regulatory landscape, the requirements for joining the national digital health system, and progress so far, including a briefing on Taifa Care. Her message was clear: there is no reversing the digitization agenda, and only certified solutions will connect to the national system. Facilities were left energised and may now be listed among Kenya’s digitally linked providers.
Facilities need reliable end-user connectivity and full training for healthcare workers on the new systems. The SHA provider portal is being phased out; only certified solutions will connect legally to national exchange services, and facilities without HMIS readiness risk delays in claims and compliance. To prepare, CHAK Member Health Units should start their HIE/SHA integration readiness now, confirm their digitalization status, verify HMIS certification, and ensure ODPC registration and data privacy policies are in place.
Most higher-level CHAK facilities already run HMIS systems, the remaining gap is certification. CHAK is leveraging its network’s scale to help close that gap collectively, and its own HMIS is already undergoing certification through the Digital Health Authority, guided by an ongoing baseline assessment and implementation plan.
For patients, this means care that finally follows you, not paperwork that does not. As Dr Wamicwe reminded member facilities: there is no going back, only forward, together.