NAIROBI, Kenya, JUL 23 – The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and the Kenya Union of Clinical workers (KUCO) have signed an agreement that will see Clinical officers provide services to its members.
Speaking in Nairobi, NHIF CEO Dr. Peter Kamunyo said the agreement whose deliberations started in 2017 will be essential in providing services to Kenyans across the country under the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The agreement stipulates that;
• NHIF agreed to amend the physical preauthorization forms as it is in its digital platform to recognize the Clinical Officers Council (COC) registration numbers to the extent of their scope of training within seven (7) days.
• Clinical Officers Council (COC) to update NHIF with the Clinical Officers biodata to Include specialty within seven (7) days.
• In line with the Kenya Health Act provisions, NHIF will receive from the Ministry of Health (MOH) through Kenya Health Professions oversight Authority (KHPOA), a list of inspected and certified Medical Centres and Hospitals run by Clinical Officers and registration licenses from the Clinical Officers Council (COC) for the purposes of empanelment and contracting by NHIF.
Folowing the agreement, KUCO Secretary-General George Kibore called off a planned peaceful demonstration and urged clinical officers to register and get accreditation for their medical centers and hospitals with the council so that they can get NHIF contracts.
“KUCO has resolved to call the planned peaceful demonstration in its entirety. NHIF intends to procure services from clinical officers to ensure that we will avoid unnecessary referrals and congestions in the upper facilities. Indeed the meaning of UHC is intended that we actually take our resources from the high-end facilities to the low-end facilities,” he said.
The clinical workers union also expressed optimism over the proposed changes to the NHIF act and called on Parliament to fast-track the NHIF (amendment) bill 2021.
In the proposed amendments, registered healthcare professionals, diagnostic service providers, stand-alone laboratory and diagnostic imaging service providers will be referred to healthcare service providers and will be able to offer services to patients in the NHIF scheme.
Currently, the law only recognizes hospitals and healthcare that offer in-patient and out-patient healthcare services.
