Kenya's Murang'a County goes to court over Afya.KE health system shutdown
A county in Kenya has gone to court over the loss of Afya.KE, the system its hospitals use for patient files, the Daily Nation and Citizen Digital reported. Murang'a says more than 170 health sites were hit, Citizen Digital said. The health minister, Aden Duale, said his ministry did not turn it off, the Nation reported.
Murang'a County in Kenya has gone to court to challenge the shutdown of Afya.KE, a digital health system used across its hospitals, the Daily Nation and Citizen Digital reported. The Nation reported that the county sued the Ministry of Health, the Digital Health Agency and three other national government bodies.
In court papers, the county says the Ministry of Health, through its agents, switched off the system as part of a move to the national Health Management Information System, Citizen Digital reported. The county says more than 170 health facilities can no longer operate normally, Citizen Digital reported. The Nation reported that access was withdrawn on Oct. 14.
Afya.KE handles patient records, prescriptions, lab requests, billing and claims to the Social Health Authority, the Nation reported. The county also says the new national system cannot support telemedicine, which patients with long-term illnesses rely on, Citizen Digital reported. The Nation reported that the telemedicine service supports more than 25,000 patients.
"This has resulted to total shutdown of health services," County Secretary Newton Mwangi said in an affidavit, according to the Nation. The county wants the High Court to order continued access to the platform and protect patient data while its petition is heard, the Nation reported.
The national government disputes the county's account. Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale said the ministry had not switched off Afya.KE and described it as a private arrangement between the county and the system's developers, the Nation reported. "The Ministry neither owns, controls, nor manages the system, nor does it have the source code," the ministry said in a statement, according to the Nation. The ministry also said people covered by the Social Health Authority in Murang'a can still get care through its systems, the Nation reported.
The ministry has set Oct. 30 as the deadline for health providers to move to the national system, the Nation reported.
What we know: Murang'a County has asked a court to restore its Afya.KE system, and the Health Ministry denies switching it off.
What we don't: When the court will rule, and how patient care in the county is affected in the meantime.
Where outlets agree The Daily Nation and Citizen Digital both report that Murang'a County went to court over the shutdown of the Afya.KE health system.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.