Government Rolls Out Digital Health Records in Pilot Counties

In a major push toward modernising Kenya’s health sector, the national government has begun rolling out a digital health records system in several pilot counties. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale officially launched the initiative in Garissa County, where over 1,114 digital devices—tablets and computers—have been distributed to public health facilities to support the shift from paper to digital record-keeping. The newly established Health Information Exchange (HIE) platform enables patient data to be accessed securely and in real time across facilities, offering continuity of care by unifying patient and provider information.
This digitisation drive is part of the broader Comprehensive Integrated Health Information System, a central component of Kenya’s Taifa Care Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reform. According to the Ministry of Health, the system records not only patient interactions but also prescriptions, facility transactions, and medicine traceability—helping to eliminate fraud, improve transparency, and strengthen accountability. The rollout is already active in 17 counties, including Nairobi, Mombasa, Nandi, and Garissa, with more expected to come online soon.
Counties have welcomed the reform, viewing it as a long-overdue modernization of their health infrastructure. In Turkana County, over 80 health management officers have been trained on the Taifa Care system, and facilities have received 450 tablets plus power banks to ensure uninterrupted access in even remote areas. For Kirinyaga County, digitisation has meant transitioning to the Electronic Health Information System (EHIS), which local leaders say will help reduce paperwork and enable clinicians to access up-to-date patient data.
Looking ahead, the Ministry of Health sees this as just the beginning of a full-scale transformation. The plan is to digitise all 47 counties over the next five years, guided by a new certification framework to ensure interoperability, patient-data security, and system safety. Once fully implemented, the government hopes to reduce inefficiencies, close loopholes for ghost facilities, and strengthen its track-and-trace system for medicines—ultimately creating a more accountable, efficient, and patient-centred healthcare system.