The Ministry of Health has directed all public and private healthcare providers to register for the National Health Information Exchange (HIE) ahead of its October 1 rollout.
In a statement on Sunday, September 22, the ministry disclosed that HIE will consolidate and harmonise patient records across all levels of care and enable the creation of encrypted digital patient records.
"The Digital Health Agency is pleased to introduce the National Health Information Exchange (HIE). The HIE is a shared service that will consolidate and harmonise patient records across all levels of care and make data potability a reality.
"HIE will facilitate the creation of encrypted digital patient records, allowing healthcare providers, both public and private, to access a patient's medical history upon authorization and consent from the patient, enabling faster diagnoses, smoother referrals and more accurate treatments," read part of the statement by the Ministry of Health.
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According to the ministry, HIE is an initiative under the Universal Health Coverage digitalisation program, which is a pillar of digital transformation of the health sector.
Developers were asked to access the Health Information Exchange APIs through the link https://developer.dha.go.ke.
"Developers must register to begin building applications that connect to the Health Information Exchange ahead of the 1st October 2024 rollout date," the ministry explained.
This comes after the Court of Appeal allowed the planned rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) on October 1 to proceed.
SHIF will replace the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) effective October 1, 2024.
