Standards and Guidelines for Electronic Medical Record Systems in ...

their health records upon request or whenever it is considered to be of benefit to the
patient.
4. Health workers who have privileged access to patient’s records shall be accountable to
maintain the highest level of confidentiality and ensure that shared confidentiality is only
practiced in the interest of the patient.
5. Notwithstanding the provision of item 3.6.6(d) and 3.6.7(b) on matters of litigation, health
workers can divulge information obtained in confidence on the instruction of legal authority
and in line with the existing laws.
6. The MOH shall ensure that data and information required for defined global surveillance
systems is collected in compatible formats and submitted to relevant authorities in time /
on schedule.
Regulatory Environment for EMR Systems
Regulation of development and deployment of Electronic Medical Record Systems in Kenya is the
mandate of the Kenya Ministries of Health through the Division of Health Information systems
(HIS). The HIS may appoint a disease program (e.g., NASCOP, DLTLD or Malaria programs) to
regulate the implementation of EMR systems that are specific to that disease condition.
EMR developers and implementers as well as health facilities intending to implement electronic
medical systems shall seek the guidance of the HIS or the relevant disease programs in ascertaining
the suitability of the system they intend to use. The HIS shall review, for approval, all the EMR
systems to ascertain that they meet the defined functional requirements.
The HIS shall enforce that all EMR implementations are in adherence to the standards and
guidelines set forth in this document..
Standards and Guidelines for Electronic Medical Records Systems in Kenya 85