Cabinet Secretary for Health Dr Deborah Mlongo Barasa when she appeared before the National Assembly health Committee at the Continental House Nairobi on November 7, 2024
Doctors and health facilities offering online consultancy and diagnosis will pay Sh250,000 as licence fees, as the government moves in to take a share of the growing telemedicine money.
The new charge is contained in the The Digital Health (Use Of E-Health Applications and Technologies) Regulations, 2024 that are set for public scrutiny before they are enacted into law.
The move is likely to hit patients given that doctors and health facilities offering telemedicine will pass the new costs to their charges.
Telemedicine is the use of digital information and communication technologies, such as computers and mobile devices, to access health care services remotely and manage health care.
“A digital health solution provider who makes an application under sub regulation (1) shall submit documents for review by the Agency including, proof of payment of the certification fees set out in the Second Schedule,” Health Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa read in the regulations.
The regulations must, however, get parliamentary nod before they become law and operationalise the Digital Health Act of 2023.
Popularity of telemedicine has been on the rise in recent years as health specialists and leading private hospitals capitalise on the deepening technological advancements of the Kenya economy.
Some of the major hospitals already offering telemedicine services include Mater Misericordiae Hospital, MP Shah Hospital, Gertrude's Children's Hospital through Daktari Smart and AAR Healthcare Kenya.
The charges differ with patients paying upwards of Sh8,600 for telemedicine at Mater Misericordiae and Sh400 at AAR Healthcare.
Murang’a County is also offering telemedicine services with patients paying Sh100 to cater for both consultation and internet costs.
Wilson Aruasa, whose eight-year tenure as the CEO of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital ended in December last year, said that currently, there are no certification fees for doctors or health facilities.
“So the introduction in these regulations is something that will be up for debate,” Dr Aruasa told this publication on Monday.
The growing popularity of telemedicine is attributed to the deepening use of technology, shorter waiting times for patients as opposed to the traditional queues systems at hospitals, cost-effectiveness and a higher degree of confidentiality.
Startups offering telemedicine in Kenya include Zuri Health, My Health Africa and ConnectMed which have all been founded in the last seven years.
Telemedicine is contained in the Digital Health Act that was signed into law last year as part of the wider government plan to ensure universal healthcare (UHC).
The government reckons that embedding telemedicine within the health laws is key to ensuring that currently underserved Kenyans get access to quality and affordable via use of information and communication technology.
The Digital Health Act, 2023 notes that telemedicine is now a recognised model of healthcare service delivery alongside m-health and telehealth.
Besides the Sh250,000 certification fee for telemedicine certification, doctors and health facilities will also be required to pay a certification fee of Sh50,000 for Mhealth solutions.
Students and innovators will pay a maximum of Sh10,000 as testing fees for their innovative systems.
