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About UHDS

Transforming Healthcare Through National Digital Interoperability

Building a secure, connected, and patient-centred Health Information Exchange platform that enables seamless sharing of medical information nationwide's healthcare ecosystem while supporting Universal Health Coverage (UHC), improving clinical outcomes, and reducing healthcare costs.

Our story

Why UHDS was conceived

Kenya's healthcare ecosystem is rich in clinical talent and public commitment — yet patient information remains fragmented across facilities, programmes, and payers. UHDS was established to solve these challenges through secure, standards-based interoperability.

Challenges we address

  • Fragmented health records
  • Isolated hospital information systems
  • Repeated laboratory tests
  • Duplicate medical imaging
  • Paper-based referrals
  • Delayed diagnosis
  • Limited interoperability
  • Increased healthcare costs
  • Poor continuity of patient care

The UHDS response

The United Health Digital System provides nationally governed digital infrastructure — not a replacement for hospital systems, but a secure interoperability spine connecting authorised providers, laboratories, pharmacies, payers, counties, and citizens under consent-aware policy.

By aligning with HL7 FHIR, OpenHIE, and Kenya's data protection frameworks, UHDS enables trusted exchange that reduces duplication, accelerates treatment, and strengthens Universal Health Coverage delivery.

Vision

To create a nationally connected healthcare ecosystem where every authorised healthcare provider can securely access the right patient information at the right time, improving healthcare delivery, strengthening collaboration, and supporting Kenya's digital health transformation.

Mission

To provide secure, interoperable digital infrastructure that enables trusted health information exchange between public and private healthcare providers while improving efficiency, patient outcomes, and supporting Universal Health Coverage.

Core objectives

Outcomes across clinical, economic, and government dimensions

Clinical objectives

  • Reduce duplicate laboratory testing
  • Improve diagnosis accuracy
  • Accelerate treatment
  • Support continuity of care
  • Improve emergency response

Economic objectives

  • Reduce healthcare costs
  • Improve insurance efficiency
  • Reduce unnecessary admissions
  • Lower operational waste
  • Improve healthcare resource utilisation

Government objectives

  • Support Universal Health Coverage
  • Enable national health analytics
  • Improve epidemic monitoring
  • Strengthen digital health infrastructure
  • Improve county healthcare coordination

What we do

Secure exchange across the care continuum

UHDS enables authorised, consent-aware sharing of clinical and administrative data between Kenya's healthcare actors.

Patient demographics

Verified identity and programme enrolment context.

Laboratory results

Structured results routed to treating clinicians.

Radiology reports

Imaging narratives and diagnostic impressions.

Prescriptions

Electronic prescriptions with formulary alignment.

Clinical notes

Encounter documentation and care plans.

Discharge summaries

Continuity packs for follow-on providers.

Referral histories

Tracked handoffs across facilities and levels.

Insurance verification

SHA/UHC eligibility and benefit checks.

Chronic disease records

Longitudinal programmes for NCD management.

Who we connect

A nationally connected healthcare ecosystem

Secure collaboration across public, private, payer, and citizen actors — governed by national standards.

Public hospitals
Private hospitals
Laboratories
Pharmacies
Insurance providers
SHA / UHC
Ambulance services
Specialists
County governments
Ministry of Health
Digital Health Agency
Patients

Platform architecture

Enterprise interoperability building blocks

Interoperability layer

Standards-based exchange fabric for national scale.

  • HL7 FHIR
  • ICD-10
  • SNOMED CT
  • OpenHIE standards

National patient identity

Secure identification across programmes and facilities.

  • National ID
  • SHA / UHC number
  • Passport
  • Refugee identification
  • Mobile number

Consent & privacy

Patient-controlled access with auditable governance.

  • Permission management
  • Time-limited access
  • Emergency access controls
  • Audit logging

Provider portal

Clinical cockpit for authorised care teams.

  • Patient history
  • Laboratory results
  • Digital referrals
  • Treatment notes

Patient mobile application

Citizen wallet for records, consent, and programme access.

  • Access medical records
  • Download prescriptions
  • View referrals
  • Share records securely

Why UHDS matters

National benefits for patients, providers, and government

Reduced duplicate testing

Faster diagnosis

Better patient outcomes

Lower healthcare costs

Improved collaboration

National health intelligence

Stronger Universal Health Coverage

Better public-private partnerships

Efficient healthcare spending

Government alignment

Interoperability infrastructure — not a replacement

UHDS is designed to support — not replace — existing government systems. It functions as secure interoperability infrastructure operating under government standards and governance, enabling counties, ministries, and programmes to exchange information without duplicating core systems of record.

Read government alignment brief →
Ministry of Health Kenya Digital Health Agency Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Taifa Care / SHA Kenya Digital Health Strategy County governments

Strategic roadmap

Four-phase national implementation journey

1

Foundation

  • Government consultations
  • Technical architecture
  • Pilot hospital onboarding
  • Regulatory approvals
2

Live pilot

  • Live pilot operations
  • Interoperability testing
  • Doctor onboarding
  • Patient mobile application launch
3

National scale

  • Multi-county expansion
  • Insurance integration
  • National analytics dashboard
4

Regional leadership

  • East African interoperability
  • AI-assisted clinical intelligence
  • National emergency response integration

Security & compliance

Enterprise-grade trust architecture

End-to-end encryption

Multi-factor authentication

Role-based access control

Audit trails

Consent management

Kenya Data Protection Act

Health Act compliance

Cybersecurity standards

Aligned with national SOC posture, incident response, and continuous monitoring frameworks.

Strategic partners

Collaborating for national digital health impact

Ministry of Health Kenya
Digital Health Agency
WHO
PATH
USAID
Amref Health Africa
Universities
Telecom companies
Insurance providers
Hospital groups
Development agencies

Our values

Principles guiding national interoperability

Trust

Innovation

Collaboration

Patient-centred care

Security

Transparency

Excellence

National impact

“A secure national interoperability platform enabling public and private healthcare providers to exchange patient information efficiently, reduce duplication, accelerate treatment, and support Kenya's Universal Health Coverage goals.”

Partner with UHDS

Let's build the future of connected healthcare together

We welcome engagement from government, hospitals, healthcare providers, development partners, technology partners, and investors committed to Kenya's digital health transformation.