The DHA/SHA HMIS Mandate: What It Means for Your Facility
- lgmhealthadvisory
- Jul 8
- 4 min read
Navigating the 90-day integration deadline, DHA certification, and Health Information Exchange readiness
1. What's Happening
On 29 June 2026, the Ministry of Health, the Social Health Authority (SHA), and the Digital Health Agency (DHA) jointly directed all healthcare providers to fully integrate with the Health Management Information System (HMIS) within three months, or risk decontracting from SHA.
This is now a formal condition of SHA contracting for the 2026/28 cycle, not a recommendation. Facilities without a certified, integrated HMIS will be ineligible for new contracts, renewals, or continued participation in SHA-funded schemes (SHIF and related programmes under Taifa Care).
"Within the next three months, I expect all providers to be fully integrated. If not, we will have no option but to decontract non-compliant facilities." — Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, SHA CEO, 29 June 2026 stakeholder forum, Nairobi |
Separately, claims processing for Level 4 public facilities has already migrated from the SHA Provider Portal to the Taifa Care HMIS, effective midnight 29 June 2026. The DHA's technical certification framework requires facilities to meet 26 checklist components spanning the Client Registry, Facility Registry, Health Worker Registry, Eligibility Check, and Claims Integration.
Kenya's Digital Health Ecosystem. Simplified view
Figure 1: Simplified view of Kenya's digital health ecosystem, illustrating where a facility's HMIS connects into DHA's national registries, core services, and analytics layers.
2. What This Means for Facilities
Your situation | What it means |
|---|---|
No DHA-certified HMIS | Cannot secure new SHA contracts or renew existing ones |
HMIS in place, not integrated | Vendor integration work needed to connect to DHA registries and claims |
Still on paper records | Starting from zero with a 3-month clock already running |
Rural / low-connectivity site | Internet and power reliability, not software, is the real constraint |
This is a systems integration project, not a software purchase. It requires direct API-based integration into DHA's national registries and real-time, biometric-verified claims processing. Unofficial middleware or workaround connectors will not satisfy certification.
Note on fees: DHA certification fees are paid by the HMIS/Digital Health Solution vendor, not the facility, per the Second Schedule of the Digital Health (Use of e-Health Applications and Technologies) Regulations, 2024. Facilities should still ask vendors whether this cost is passed on through licensing or subscription pricing. |
A Quick Definition: FHIR and HIE
FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) is the international data-exchange standard that allows different health IT systems, e.g, an HMIS, a laboratory system, a national registry, to share patient data in a common format. It is the technical backbone that makes Health Information Exchange (HIE), the actual sharing of health information between systems, possible. Facilities do not need to master FHIR themselves, but genuine DHA-compliant HMIS vendors will build on it, and it is a useful term to know when evaluating vendor claims.
3. Immediate Advice to Facilities
Check today whether your current HMIS is DHA-certified.
Appoint one accountable owner for the transition, as this cannot sit with IT alone.
Apply for DHA certification early, if having an in-house system, before application queues build up.
Verify vendor claims of “SHA-ready” against DHA's actual technical checklist, not marketing language.
Budget for connectivity and hardware upgrades, not software licensing alone.
Begin staff training planning now, since go-live typically fails on workflow gaps, not technology.
4. Proposed 90-Day Digital Transition Framework
Phase | Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|---|
1. Diagnose | 1–2 | Inventory of current systems; check certification status; assess connectivity and hardware readiness |
2. Procure / Build | 3–6 | Select or upgrade HMIS vendor; contract connectivity upgrades; begin registry and API integration |
3. Integrate & Test | 7–10 | Build claims workflow (coding, preauth, SHA mapping) from core system to HMIS; test with SHA/DHA; migrate and validate data |
4. Train & Go-Live | 11–12 | Staff training across clinical, billing and records; certification confirmation; go-live with support contacts in hand |
Post go-live: run a 30-day stabilization review of claims rejection rates and system uptime, alongside a governance check on SOPs, staff accountability, and data protection compliance.
5. What Will Cost Money
Cost area | Notes |
|---|---|
DHA certification fees(paid by vendor, not facility) | Paid directly by the HMIS/Digital Health Solution vendor to DHA. Application KES 20,000; hospital-wide HMIS testing KES 500,000; mHealth solution KES 50,000; telemedicine KES 250,000. Facilities don't pay this directly, but vendors typically build it into licensing/subscription pricing. It is worth asking about when comparing quotes. |
HMIS licensing/subscription | Often a recurring cost, not one-off, based on vendor contract |
API integration/development | If your current vendor is not already DHA-connected |
Hardware | Biometric verification devices, workstations, backup power |
Connectivity upgrades | The most commonly underestimated cost |
Staff training time | Direct cost plus productivity loss during transition |
Data migration | Cleaning and moving existing patient and billing records |
Project management support | Coordinating vendor, DHA and facility timelines within 90 days |
6. What to Avoid
Trusting “SHA-ready” or “DHA-certified” marketing claims without checking against DHA's actual requirements.
Using unofficial middleware instead of direct, native HMIS integration.
Treating this as an IT-only project. Clinical and billing staff must be involved from day one.
Ignoring connectivity readiness while focusing only on software.
Starting late. Certification queues and vendor capacity will tighten as the deadline nears.
Skipping Data Protection Act compliance during data migration.
7. Official DHA Resources
DHA main site: https://dha.go.ke/
About DHA / mandate: https://dha.go.ke/about
Certification portal (apply here): https://certification.dha.go.ke/
Certification account setup: https://app.dha.go.ke/select-account-type
Digital Health Superhighway (architecture overview): https://dha.go.ke/digital-health-superhighway
HMIS/HIE integration guide: https://afyalink.dha.go.ke/hmis-sha-integration-guide
DHA helpdesk: helpdesk@dha.go.ke | SHA/DHA 24/7 transition support: toll-free 147
8. What LGM Health Advisory Offers
Readiness diagnostic: a rapid audit of your current HMIS/EMR against DHA's certification checklist, with a prioritised gap report.
Transition project management: LGM coordinates your facility, your HMIS vendor, and DHA/SHA through the 90-day window.
Governance and risk overlay: Data Protection Act compliance, staff SOPs, and medicolegal risk review for the new claims and records environment.
Vendor recommendations: A recommendation of system vendors that are DHA certified and compliant based on your budgetary requirements in case you need to upgrade vendors or are still on paper-based systems.
Reach out to the LGM team at lgmhealthavisory.org/contact or email us at lgmhealthadvisory@gmail.com for a quick consultation to streamline your compliance needs.
This brief is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Facilities should confirm current requirements directly with DHA and SHA before making procurement or contracting decisions.
Prepared by LGM Health Advisory Limited