SHA Technical Glitches Disrupt Hospital Services Nationwide, Leaving Patients Facing Delays and Unexpected Medical Bills

Persistent System Failures Affect Patient Verification, Delay Treatment Approvals, and Raise Fresh Questions About Kenya’s Digital Health TransitionNAIROBI, Kenya — Widespread technical failures affecting the Social Health Authority (SHA) digital platform have disrupted healthcare services across Kenya, leaving hospitals struggling to verify patients, process treatment approvals, and access essential administrative services.The system outages have affected both public and private health facilities, forcing some hospitals to revert to manual records while others have asked patients to make cash payments as electronic verification services remain unavailable.

For thousands of Kenyans who rely on SHA coverage, the disruptions have created uncertainty over access to timely medical care.Among the most affected institutions is Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where administrators have reported delays in processing patient records and authorizing treatment due to interruptions within the SHA platform. Similar challenges have been reported by healthcare providers in other parts of the country.

Hospital administrators say one of the major technical challenges has been the failure of the system to generate One-Time Passwords (OTPs), which are required to authenticate patients and complete treatment pre-authorisations. Without successful verification, many facilities are unable to process claims or confirm insurance eligibility through the digital platform.The disruptions have had the greatest impact on patients requiring specialized and time-sensitive treatment, including dialysis, chemotherapy, surgical procedures, and other critical medical interventions.

Delays in approval processes have forced some patients to postpone treatment while others have been required to pay out-of-pocket to avoid interruptions in care.To maintain services, many hospitals have temporarily returned to paper-based documentation. While this allows clinicians to continue attending to patients, administrators say manual processing significantly slows operations and increases the risk of administrative errors.In a statement addressing the technical challenges, SHA acknowledged the system disruptions and said efforts were underway to restore full functionality.

“We are committed to resolving the technical issues with the highest urgency and will continue providing regular updates to healthcare providers and the public until services are fully restored,” the Authority said.

The latest outage has renewed concerns over the country’s transition from the former National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Authority. Health sector stakeholders have repeatedly questioned whether the supporting digital infrastructure is sufficiently resilient to support nationwide healthcare delivery without service interruptions.Previous assessments of Kenya’s digital health systems have highlighted integration challenges affecting some healthcare facilities, including connectivity issues, authentication failures, and difficulties accessing central platforms.

Healthcare experts argue that strengthening digital infrastructure and establishing reliable contingency measures will be critical to ensuring uninterrupted service delivery as Kenya advances its Universal Health Coverage (UHC) agenda.What It MeansThe SHA disruptions demonstrate how essential digital infrastructure has become to healthcare delivery in Kenya. When electronic verification systems fail, patients may face treatment delays, hospitals experience operational challenges, and families risk unexpected medical expenses despite being registered under the national health insurance programme.

The outages also raise broader questions about system resilience, contingency planning, and the readiness of Kenya’s digital health ecosystem to support Universal Health Coverage on a national scale.What’s NextHealth facilities are expected to continue using manual processes where necessary as technical teams work to restore normal system operations.

Stakeholders across the health sector are likely to monitor the response closely, with renewed calls for stronger digital infrastructure, improved contingency protocols, and greater transparency regarding the causes of recurring system outages.As investigations and recovery efforts continue, attention will remain on how quickly services can be restored and what long-term measures will be implemented to prevent similar disruptions in the future.