Technology has made healthcare services more accessible to Kenyans, according to management at Safaricom-backed mobile health wallet M-Tiba.
M-Tiba says it offers users the opportunity to save money through mobile money services and also have access to medical services at select service providers.
The company has over 965,000 users in Kenya and since inception has seen over Kshs 150 million in medical payouts.
Kees van Lede, CEO of CarePay Limited, the parent company of M-Tiba, told ITWeb Africa that the use of technology in facilitating health care is boosting the sector.
"We basically try to fill two main gaps. One is on the financing side of health care. There is a big gap between those who are insured either from private insurance or NHIF, and people who pay out of pocket. Most people who pay out of pocket come from the lower income groups," said van Lede.
"It also tries to cultivate the habit of prepaying for health care that is unexpected," he added. "People who do it for longer end up putting away more funds, because they see the benefits of it."
Van Lede referenced a report by Netherlands foreign affairs, Kenyan Healthcare Sector Opportunities for the Dutch Life Sciences & Health Sector, aimed at Dutch investors considering the potential of Kenya's health sector, which states that the number of privately health insured persons in Kenya stood at 1.5 million representing about 2% penetration.
The NHIF claims to have 2 million people in its scheme, but supports over 4 million dependants.
The report also said that out-of-pocket health spending is a barrier for healthcare services as it pushes more household into poverty, a trend M-Tiba is attempting to change. "We want to build a bridge for them to go for health insurance," van Lede continued.
He added that that the second gap they are bridging is one of quality of service. "One way we do that is through technology, every transaction of a health provider that runs on M-Tiba also collects the medical data linked to the financial transaction. The health provider only gets paid when the medical claim is assessed."
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