Govt clarifies transition from the SHA provider portal to HMIS: What it means

The Ministry of Health has issued an official clarification regarding the ongoing shift from the Social Health Authority (SHA) Provider Portal to the Health Management Information System (HMIS).

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale,in a statement released on October 2, has addressed public queries to outline the progress of the digital rollout, clear up misconceptions surrounding system integration, and assure citizens that health services remain fully accessible across the country.

The update outlines the progress of the migration, technical support frameworks, and firm assurances that patient care will remain unaffected nationwide.

What is changing is the integrated health environment: The focus is shifting toward a fully unified digital health network where a hospital’s own HMIS serves as the single primary interface for both clinical services and claim management.

Seamless Integration: Rather than requiring staff to manually transfer data, the HMIS is being connected directly to SHA and other relevant health sector systems.

Elimination of Redundancy: Patients and providers will no longer need to navigate multiple disconnected systems to access or deliver health services.

The shift away from the legacy SHA provider portal to a standardized, paperless HMIS framework forms a core part of the government’s digital health roadmap under the Digital Health Act.

According to updates provided by CS Aden Duale, lower-tier public health institutions have fully adopted the system. All 6,427 public Level 2 to Level 4 health facilities across the counties have successfully completed their migration to the new HMIS interface.

For larger public referral centers, faith-based organization (FBO) facilities, and private healthcare providers, a one-month extension through October 30, 2026, has been granted to finalize their integration:

Level 5 Public Facilities: Four Level 5 public hospitals have fully transitioned, while 23 others are actively moving through various implementation stages.

Level 6 National Referral Hospitals: Premier referral centers, including Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) and Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), are on track to wrap up their migration by next week, with all Level 6 facilities expected to be compliant by October 30.

Faith-Based Facilities: Out of 518 contracted faith-based facilities receiving technical support, 38 have achieved full transition, with the remainder progressing toward the end-of-month timeline.

Private Healthcare Providers: Private hospitals operating existing HMIS platforms have initiated data integration and compliance testing. To date, 28 independent HMIS platforms have received formal certification from the Digital Health Agency (DHA).

To ensure remaining facilities meet the deadline, the DHA is executing Rapid Results Initiatives (RRI) throughout October, offering hands-on technical assistance, system certification, and operational support.

Addressing public concerns over potential service disruptions, the Ministry of Health emphasized that the technology transition will operate entirely in the background.

"Importantly, all patients will continue to access services at facilities that have not yet fully transitioned," CS Duale stated. "The ongoing transition will therefore not disrupt access to healthcare services."

Healthcare facilities are required to maintain seamless service delivery for all patients while their administrative and information systems complete integration with the certified HMIS ecosystem.