New Technologies Help Reduce Patient Wait Times

Hospitals in Kenya are increasingly leveraging digital tools to shorten patient wait times and improve the overall care experience. In Nakuru County, for instance, the government has installed high-speed fibre internet in Level 4 and 5 hospitals, enabling faster access to electronic medical records (EMRs), telemedicine consultations, and automated referrals.This connectivity allows health workers to pull up patient history quickly, reducing delays caused by paper records and improving service delivery.
Private hospitals are leading in queue management innovation. Lifecare Hospitals, for example, has partnered with Q‑SYS to deploy a smart ticket-based queue system. Patients check in at kiosks, receive digital tokens, and are directed to available staff — and the system even allows priority ticketing for insured or cash-paying patients. This has helped optimize staff assignment, reduce congestion, and cut waiting times significantly.
Other hospitals are using digital signage and real-time dashboards to keep patients informed and reduce anxiety during their wait. At Aga Khan Hospital, Q‑SYS displays live queue updates and wait times on screens, helping patients anticipate when they will be seen and making the waiting experience more transparent and comfortable. Similarly, Mater Hospital has deployed a queue management system that includes SMS notifications and real-time dashboard monitoring, enabling better flow management and reducing patient bottlenecks.
At the national level, the government is scaling up its Comprehensive Integrated Health Information System (CIHIS), which combines EMRs, real‑time data sharing, and digital workflows to streamline hospital operations and reduce inefficiencies. As part of this, all patient interactions, prescriptions, and billing will be digitally recorded—helping to eliminate paperwork backlogs and make services faster, more transparent, and more efficient for both patients and health workers.