Social Health Authority (SHA) CEO Mercy Mwangangi has revealed that the authority will introduce a clinical support tool that will ensure that doctors don't give harmful prescriptions to patients.
Speaking during an interview with Citizen TV on Tuesday, September 16, Mwangangi stated that the artificial intelligence-powered tool will be launched by the Ministry of Health in 2026.
For this tool to work, Mwangangi claimed that the authority will first collect and record all medical prescriptions that doctors may give to patients into the system, and how doctors dispense them.
When a patient is given a prescription, which is recorded on the Afya Yangu portal, the tool determines whether the medicine is harmful to them. If so, the tool automatically rejects it. The patient's medical records and conditions are also recorded on the portal.
According to Mwangangi, the tool will not only act as a strategy to ensure the effective rollout of SHA but will also play a key role in protecting the well-being of patients.
"We actually want to introduce a clinical decision support tool, and this is something we want to happen by next year. These tools will ensure that your doctor does not give you a medical prescription that is likely to cause harm to you," Mwangangi stated.
"For example, if I have an allergy and it is in my afya yangu portal, which has all the patient data, when the doctor puts a prescription that will trigger the allergy, the system will auto-reject it, and that will help us protect you," she added.
The announcement comes a week after Mwangangi said that the authority is also in the process of introducing free ambulance services across the country.
In a statement on Tuesday, September 9, Mwangangi claimed that the project will be launched by President William Ruto by the end of October 2025.
According to Mwangangi, the Ministry of Health will roll out a telephone number that Kenyans can use to access the ambulance services, regardless of where they are in the country.
SHA will cover the Ksh4,500 cost of the ambulance and all the medical expenses that will be incurred in the hospital in the first 24 hours.
"By the end of October, our president will launch what we call ambulance services through the SHA. This will enable Kenyans to access ambulance services through their phone regardless of where they are," Mwangangi stated.
"You will only be required to call us, and the ambulance will come wherever you are, which costs Ksh4,500 and shall be paid fully by SHA. It will then take you to the emergency centre, and if you have an asthma attack, we shall cater for the expenses so that you may get well," she added. By