What the HMIS Shift Means for SHA Patients and Hospitals

The Ministry of Health has extended the deadline for hospitals to move from the Social Health Authority (SHA) Provider Portal to the Health Management Information System (HMIS), as it seeks to clear up confusion over what the change means for patients.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the transition does not mean SHA is being abolished or replaced.

Instead, the government wants hospitals to use their own HMIS as the main point for managing patient care and hospital operations, with those systems connected to SHA and other government health platforms.

The migration deadline, initially set for September 30, has now been pushed to October 30, 2026, giving facilities that have not completed the process more time to finish the technical work.

Duale said the move is intended to address a problem that has affected hospitals since the rollout of SHA: having staff work across separate digital systems.

Since SHA was introduced, healthcare providers have used the SHA Provider Portal to submit claims and carry out related transactions.

At the same time, hospitals have continued using their own HMIS to manage admissions, consultations, patient records, billing and other daily operations.

The Ministry says this has sometimes forced staff to enter or transfer the same information more than once.

Duale said the government now wants the hospital system to communicate directly with SHA instead.

“The objective is not simply to replace one portal with another. The bigger objective is to connect the different components of the healthcare ecosystem,” Duale said.

What is changing?

Under the new arrangement, a hospital's HMIS becomes the main system through which information is captured during a patient's visit.

That information can then be shared with authorised health-sector systems, including SHA, rather than healthcare workers having to repeatedly enter the same details on separate platforms.

The Ministry says this should cover processes such as patient registration, clinical services, billing and claims.

It also expects the arrangement to give SHA better information for checking whether claims correspond to services actually provided.

That could make it easier to identify duplicate claims, inconsistencies and other irregularities.

The government has also linked the transition to its wider digital health programme, saying the infrastructure was already procured and paid for.

This means HMIS should not be understood as a new health insurer or a replacement for SHA.

SHA remains the body responsible for Kenya's public health insurance administration. HMIS is the digital infrastructure through which hospitals manage and share health information.

Thousands of facilities have already moved

The Ministry says the transition is already well advanced in lower-level public facilities.

All 6,427 public Level 2 to Level 4 health facilities have completed the migration, according to the latest government update.

Among Level 5 public hospitals, four have completed the process while 23 are still at different stages.

The government is also supporting 518 contracted faith-based facilities with installation and migration. So far, 38 of those facilities have completed the transition.

Private hospitals that already operate their own HMIS platforms have begun certification and integration.

The Digital Health Agency has certified 28 existing private HMIS platforms, according to the latest update.

National referral hospitals are also being brought into the system, with Kenyatta National Hospital and Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital among the facilities expected to complete the process shortly.

What does it mean for patients?

For patients, one of the government's main promises is that the technology change should happen in the background without interrupting treatment.

Duale said patients should continue receiving care even at facilities that have not completed the migration.

The Ministry says the intended benefit is a smoother flow of information between the point where care is provided and the systems used to process claims.

In practical terms, a patient's information recorded by a hospital should not have to be repeatedly entered into another system simply because the hospital is seeking reimbursement from SHA.

The government also says authorised health workers should eventually be able to access relevant patient information across facilities where the systems are properly connected.

Duale gave the example of medical imaging, saying a patient should not necessarily have to physically carry a scan from one hospital to another if the information can be accessed securely through the integrated system.

However, the benefits will depend on how well individual hospitals complete the technical integration and how reliably the different systems communicate.

Transition comes as SHA faces wider system changes

The HMIS migration is taking place alongside another major change in the health financing system.

SHA is currently moving into its 2026–2029 provider contracting cycle, known as HAKIKA.

The Ministry launched the new contracting framework and an electronic contracting platform in September, with the system designed to allow providers to submit documents, execute contracts and track their applications digitally.

The government says the new arrangements are intended to address some of the concerns raised by healthcare providers around claims processing, payment delays, pre-authorisation and system reliability.

That makes the HMIS transition more than a technical change for hospitals.

For healthcare providers, the systems must work together if claims are to move smoothly from patient care to verification and payment.

Deadline now October 30

The extended deadline gives facilities another month to complete the migration.

The Digital Health Agency is expected to provide technical support to facilities that are still moving across, while larger hospitals and private providers continue their integration and certification.

The Ministry has also said the transition should not prevent patients from accessing care.

For Kenyans, therefore, the key point is simple: SHA is not being replaced by HMIS.

What is changing is the way hospitals record, manage and transmit health information to SHA and other parts of the digital health system.

Whether the new arrangement delivers shorter queues, faster claims processing and fewer administrative delays will ultimately depend on how well the systems work together once the transition is complete.

For now, the government has given facilities until October 30 to get there.

About the Author

Maureen Onyango is a journalist passionate about storytelling, life coaching and spiritual lessons. She studied at the Kenya Institute of Management and enjoys telling stories that inform, inspire and empower communities.