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46pc of health facilities yet to shift to SHA e-contracting platform
Dr Brian Lishenga (centre), Chairman of the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (Rupha) leading his members in addressing journalists at Boulevard hotel in Nairobi on December 16, 2024.
About 46 percent of health facilities contacted by the Social Health Authority (SHA) are yet to fully adopt the e-contracting platform, a system designed to streamline operations and improve accountability in the health sector, a new report has revealed.
According to SHA’s Status of e-contracting' report, 1,863 out of 3,993 facilities on board had not signed their e-contracts as of January 6, raising concerns about compliance.
The e-contracting platform requires health facilities to register with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) using their licence number as a unique identity. As of January 21, 12,190 health facilities had been licenced by the KMPDC.
"The e-contracting platform was introduced to automate contracting in health facilities. For a facility to be onboarded, it must be registered with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, as the licence number is its primary identifier," the report said.
While 2,130 facilities have successfully completed this process gaps remain, particularly among county government and private providers.
The report shows that county government facilities face the greatest compliance challenges, with only 536 out of 1,366 facilities fully e-contracted leaving 830 out. Among private homes - which make up the largest proportion of homes signed up - 872 out of 2,244 are yet to complete.
Mr Brian Lishenga, chairperson of the Rural-Urban and Private Hospitals Association attributed delays to government issues. He noted private facilities that are yet to adopt the e-contracting platform are facing various challenges, including incorrect Master Facility Listing (MFL) codes and issues with KMPDC categorisation, which in turn affect their cash flow.
According to a report by Rupha, 52 percent of facilities received payments covering less than 20 percent of their total submitted claims.
Only six percent received reimbursements for more than 80 percent of their claims. Primary care facilities reported receiving smaller amounts, mostly less than Sh50,000.
"MFL codes are issued to health facilities by the Ministry of Health. However, there are discrepancies in the database because KMPDC has one set of data and the Ministry has another. For example, you might find a facility classified as level seven that doesn't exist," says Dr Lishenga.
For his part, Robert Ingasira, chairman of the SHA, noted that they had clarified which facilities were affected and how.
"We had a few facilities on the list whose blocking bank details were not correct, so the money that was supposed to go to them was returned, and those who have corrected their details have since received their money, which was first disbursed in December," Mr Ingasira said.
