Tuesday, December 3, 2024 – Kenyans have raised concerns about their privacy after it emerged that President William Ruto and his government plan to sell out data under the Social Health Authority (SHA) and Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
This follows the government’s
move to monetise patient data, which will be managed exclusively by government
authorities.
According to the proposed
Digital Health Information Management Regulations 2024, medical students and
researchers will have to pay at least Ksh30,000 to access health data collected
under SHIF.
Central to the new framework is
the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). However, there will be two data banks, the
National Health Data Bank and the County Health Data Banks.
In the regulations, all health
facilities accredited by SHA will be required to store all patient data
collected in the course of diagnosis and any other follow-up check in a
National Health Data Bank.
ESB will act as the backbone
enabling data exchange among certified health providers, granting them access
to the data held between the two banks. However, access to this system is not
free.
According to the proposed bill,
onboarding fees for entities range from Ksh2,000 to a staggering Ksh100,000,
depending on the level of service. Furthermore, annual licenses are priced separately,
with Level 6 facilities paying up to Ksh25,000 annually.
Among the more controversial
elements is the provision allowing private entities, such as health insurance
firms, to access the data for claims management.
Critics argue this opens the door
to commercial exploitation. The regulations stipulate a flat fee of Ksh25 per
insured life annually, but how these fees trickle down to the insured Kenyans
remains unclear.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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