Safaricom is piloting Afya Moja, its new electronic medical records program in a move to improve health services for over 50 million Kenyans.
Afya Moja is a mobile-based digital health passport storing patient information in one place, unlike printed hospital cards which can easily be lost or tampered with. As a digital platform, Afya Moja allows users to access a copy of their own health information and the ability to share it with trusted health providers and allows doctors, upon consent, to have access to patients’ medical backgrounds and therefore respond effectively to their needs.
“What we aim to do through Afya Moja, is to make patient medical records portable so that patients and healthcare workers can access them any time they need them. We will be focusing on diabetes patients during the initial stages of this pilot as we move on to other patients with other chronic diseases”, said Steve Chege, Chief Corporate Affairs, Safaricom.
Afya Moja is being piloted in initial eight hospitals in Nakuru County including PGH Nakuru Level 5 Hospital, Naivasha Sub County Hospital, Molo Sub County Hospital and Keringet Sub County Hospital. Other hospitals in the pilot are; Soin-Mogotio Sub County Hospital, Kiptangwany Health Centre, Mirugi Kariuki Sub County Hospital and Gilgil Health Centre.
After the Nakuru pilot, the implementation of the Afya Moja Program will be rolled out in different counties in the coming months leading up to a full adoption countrywide. Safaricom will provide the technology platform which will enable patients access their health records and medical backgrounds through their mobile phones.
The platform has been created by a consortium of partners including Safaricom, Savannah Informatics Limited and IntelliSOFT Consulting Limited.
Last year Safaricom was included in the 2020 Fortune Change the World List for its role in transforming how people in Kenya are paying for and accessing healthcare through M-TIBA which is a partnership with CarePay and PharmAccess
M-TIBA which has over 4 million users enables people to save, send, receive and pay for medical treatment through a mobile health wallet on their phone. The solution has previously won the shared value category at the 2017 Loeries Awards and received the FT/IFC Transformational Business Award in Sustainable Development.