A team of Principal Secretaries toured Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) to assess the impact of the facility’s transition to a fully digitised health management system.
The delegation, led by Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr .Ouma Oluga, said the adoption of the AfyaKE digital platform was already streamlining services and improving patient care at the region’s largest referral hospital.
During a walk-through of the Accident and Emergency unit, the officials tracked the patient journey from registration to treatment, observing how digital tools have replaced paper files and manual registers.
Dr. Oluga said the system was giving health managers real-time oversight of operations at the referral facility and strengthening accountability.
“With this dashboard on my phone, I can instantly see how many patients have been attended to today, how many received prescriptions and how many tests have been processed by the laboratory and pharmacy. This level of visibility helps us plan better and respond faster,” he said.
Dr. Oluga said the rollout aligns with the Social Health Authority (SHA) framework, which seeks to ensure that patient services are digitally documented from admission to discharge, promoting transparency, efficiency and continuity of care.
The visit was also attended by Principal Secretaries Carren Achieng Ageng’o (Children Services), Regina Ombam (Trade) and Fikirini Jacobs (Youth Affairs and Creative Economy), who praised the hospital’s progress in embracing technology to improve public service delivery.
JOOTRH Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr. Joshua Okise said the hospital was now fully paperless and integrated into the national AfyaKE system, marking a major milestone in modernising healthcare services in the region.
He said clinicians were using tablets to send laboratory and pharmacy requests electronically, eliminating the need for patients to carry paper slips between departments.
The system, he added, also enables digital referrals and sharing of medical records between JOOTRH’s main hospital, the Victoria Annex and the Prime Acre Amenity Wing.
Dr. Okise said the digitisation has resolved the long-standing problem of missing patient files, shortened waiting times and improved coordination of care across departments.
“Staff can now track a patient’s movement through various service points in real time, enhancing efficiency and accountability within the sprawling facility,” he said.
However, he said, the facility, which was recently upgraded to a national referral hospital, was yet to achieve full digital coverage.
“Currently, 97 tablets are in use, while at least 187 service points require connectivity for complete integration,” he said.
By Chris Mahandara
