The Ulinzi Health Services Fund (UHSF) undertook a benchmarking visit to Murang’a County Health Services to gain insights into innovative approaches to healthcare delivery, health financing, revenue management, automation and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to improve health service delivery.

The benchmarking engagement brought together UHSF officials, including Colonel E.M. Mutinda (DMD), Colonel P.I. Mwangi (Finance Manager), Major L.O. Kemuma (Administration Officer), and Mr. V.M. Mesa (ICT Officer), alongside Murang’a County officials, including Meshack Kipkorir (Chief ICT Officer); Dr. Florence Kagwaini (Medical Superintendent, Murang’a Level 5 Hospital); Dr. Godfrey Gatacha (Director HPTU); Dr. Wendy Githu (Telemedicine); Salome Kimani (Chief Nursing Officer); Susan Kamotho (Director ICT); HRIOs and software designers.

The discussions focused on healthcare procedures, funding models, legal and regulatory frameworks, billing and revenue management, digital health, telemedicine and health information systems.

A key area of interest was Murang’a County’s extensive automation of healthcare services. The County has deployed the Afya.ke digital health system across its health facilities, enabling electronic management and transmission of patient records, monitoring of medicine and commodity utilisation, and generation of health information to support timely decision-making. The County has also developed an integrated health analytics platform that provides visibility of telemedicine, outpatient and inpatient service data.

The delegation also explored telemedicine and teleradiology, which demonstrate how ICT can extend specialist healthcare beyond the physical hospital. Through telemedicine, patients can access specialist consultations from local health facilities, reducing the need for long-distance travel while improving access and continuity of care. Murang’a’s telemedicine programme particularly supports patients with chronic and non-communicable diseases and elderly patients requiring regular follow-up.

The County has also embraced teleradiology, enabling medical images to be securely accessed and reviewed remotely by specialists. Its planned AI-assisted teleradiology solution is designed to support digital reporting, remote access to imaging, secure archiving and improved turnaround times for radiology services.

The delegation further gained insights into automated revenue collection and other county-wide digital services, demonstrating how technology can improve accountability, operational efficiency and access to government services.

The benchmarking visit included visits to Muriranjas Hospital, which serves as a telemedicine hub, and Murang’a Level 5 Hospital, where the delegation had an opportunity to observe the practical implementation of digital health technologies and engage with healthcare and ICT personnel.

The visit provided UHSF with valuable insights into how digital health, ICT infrastructure, data analytics, automation and innovative models of care can be integrated to strengthen healthcare systems, improve efficiency and bring services closer to patients.

UHSF appreciates the Murang’a County Government, Department of Health and Sanitation, ICT and e-Government teams, and all officials who facilitated the benchmarking engagement and shared their experiences and innovations with the delegation.