Health CS Duale unveils strict digital regulations to root out fake doctors, clinics

Fake medical practitioners and operators of fake facilities now face jail term or hefty fines once new digital health regulations come into force.

This is according to new Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, who says his ministry is seeking to tame fake healthcare workers and facilities that threaten the safety of patients.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on Delegated Legislation on Thursday, Duale said the new regulations will streamline services within the health sector.

Data in the Ministry of Health shows cases where the medical space has been infiltrated by fake practitioners, with some even setting up bogus medical facilities to con unsuspecting patients while endangering their lives.

According to the digital health regulations, there shall be a health worker registry in the system which shall be the single source of reference for all information related to health workers for purposes of health information exchange and accessing the system.

Duale said the registry system will, for all practitioners, have certified personal details, qualification details, regulatory body that licensed the health worker, and valid practice licences.

“The regulations provide that any health data transmitted to the national health data bank or the county health data bank by a certified digital health solution, shall be stored, reviewed, audited, updated, and secured in accordance with the Act and the Regulations,” said Dauale.

According to Afya House, the digital system will pick real-time data from the professional regulators including the KMPDC and Clinical Council.

In the regulations, a health worker shall, subject to proof of valid licensing by the relevant regulatory body, apply to the agency for registration to access the health worker registry.

Duale said the new system will eliminate fake health facilities that were notorious for providing fake surgeries and services under the defunct NHIF, gobbling billions of shillings that the ministry wants streamlined under SHA.

“We have had these cases for a long time, we are going to strengthen the regulators, Mr. Chair, so that we have a working universal healthcare in Kenya... We want Kenya to be a model country,” stated the CS.