NAIROBI, Kenya- Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) has been hailed as a model for digitised, patient-centred healthcare, following a visit by a delegation of Principal Secretaries.
The team, led by Dr. Ouma Oluga, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Medical Services, included Carren Achieng Ageng’o (Children Welfare Services), Regina Akoth Ombam (Trade), and Fikirini Jacobs (Youth Affairs and the Creative Economy).
During the tour, the delegation observed the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department, where manual registers have been replaced by an integrated digital system that streamlines patient care from registration to treatment.
The hospital has implemented the AfyaKE digital system, linking clinical, laboratory, pharmacy, and records services. Clinicians now use tablets to transmit orders directly to service points, significantly reducing patient movement, waiting times, and errors associated with paper-based workflows.
Speaking during the visit, JOOTRH CEO Dr. Joshua Clinton Okise confirmed that the hospital is fully paperless, with digitised patient records accessible in real time.
He noted the system has addressed long-standing challenges with lost files and improved coordination across departments and satellite facilities, including the Victoria Annex and Prime Acre Amenity Wing.
Dr. Oluga praised the system’s real-time dashboards, which allow leadership to monitor patient volumes, service utilisation, prescriptions, and laboratory and pharmacy outputs, supporting timely, data-driven decision-making.
While the hospital has already seen significant improvements in efficiency and patient experience, the digital system is being scaled up in phases to cover additional service points.
The visit highlighted the government’s ongoing commitment to digital health transformation under the Social Health Authority framework, positioning technology as a key enabler of efficient, transparent, and people-centred healthcare delivery.
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