Some of the ways technology has been used to provide healthcare for people at the BoP in Kenya include:
– Remittances of insurance and micro-insurance premiums
– Saving for future healthcare needs
– Payment for healthcare products and services
– Remittances of salaries to healthcare workers
– Heath Research
– Improved health finance management and
– Management of health voucher systems.
A study conducted by USAID showed that while mobile money services are greatly expanding in developing markets, their use in the health sector – especially among rural poor people – has been limited.
This can be attributed to low citizen awareness and literacy and limited availability of agents.
The report recommends for future research to investigate how mobile money use increases uptake of health services, expands access to service for poor communities, increases provider’s productivity and improves productivity and health financial management.
Speaking Tuesday at the Business Call to Action and the Private Sector Innovation Programme for Health, Izak Odongo the Head of curative and rehabilitation services at the Ministry of health said they are keen to ensuring an enabling regulatory environment to encourage innovation and use of mobile technology in improving health care in the country.
“M-Health is one of the pillars in the Kenya E-health strategy. The other four are tele-medicine, health information system, e-learning and information for citizens,” explained Odongo on behalf of Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopa Mailu. “One of the most important things M-Health will deliver to Kenyans is the ability to dramatically improve health service delivery.”
