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{
    "id": 1151452,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1151452/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 367,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Pareno",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13180,
        "legal_name": "Judith Ramaita Pareno",
        "slug": "judith-ramaita-pareno"
    },
    "content": "It is known and even recorded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that Kenya is one of the countries that do not even have enough specialists in many areas in the medical field, to an extent that we do not have experts, and we brought them from another country. I remember the case of Cuban doctors coming to bring some expertise in our county hospitals to try, and address the shortage. Sometimes you might be referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), but when you go there, you take time to get an expert that you need. If embraced, technology can make all this easy. This Bill proposes that the County Executive Committee Member (CECMs) in charge of health in our counties will have to establish an e-system. That is about an integrated system and call centres, where you can access expert advice and treatment and transfer your treatment records to a referral hospital, where they are received in another call centre or coordinating centre and you are treated without necessarily having to be physically taken to that referral place. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the gist of the E-Health Bill is to make medicine, treatment, and expertise advice accessible through e-systems that can be created in our county hospitals, and you do not have to physically move. You will have a choice of moving somebody physically to the expert, or the choice to use systems that have been integrated and created in our county hospitals to access medicine. This Bill seeks to direct the creation of these centres in the counties and creation of integrated systems that can--- We can even have a pool of doctors that all of us can access differently through the e-system. If you have to physically see one doctor, who is accessible at a particular time, then there is always a delay and, at the end of the day, we end up suffering and lose many people because of lack of proper coordination and how quick you can access the expert. The Bill proposes that the CECM establishes a county health registry containing health records with respect to all patients receiving treatment in the hospital, falling within the mandate of the respective county government. They also have to strengthen the existing framework in respect to health records management, which will be vital in facilitating the e-health services. In addition, this provision will facilitate referral of patients to either ordinary face-to-face appointments, with a doctor or e-health services, where you do not have to meet the doctor face-to-face. The Cabinet Secretary will establish a framework for inter-operationability of systems and devices necessary for implementing the e-health system. That is at Clause 20. Then, synchronizing the system and devices is vital to ensure the success of e-health services. Once they do that, then it will be easy for all the citizens to access medicine. We have been hearing about MYDAWA and that you can dial a number and talk to a doctor. However, without proper frameworks to do that, there is the issue of privacy and how the data is going to be used. That system has to be saved in a way that information relayed is not leaked. What if we adopt the system used in Rwanda, where you they use drones to drop medicine to dispensaries? If someone is referred and treated through the e-system, the medicine can as well be dropped by drones. If Rwanda can do it, then we can do it."
}