Listen to This Article Enhance your reading experience by listening to this article.

The Ministry of Health will be required to develop policy guidelines to govern how referral patients seeking specialised treatment abroad will be treated to protect them from possible exploitation once lawmakers pass the Health (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

 The bill by Seme MP James Nyikal seeks to introduce new Section 79A to the principal law to ensure the referral of patients abroad are not subjected to abuse in the form of expensive and substandard medical regimens.

Dr Nyikal says a policy guidelines will ensure the referral process is done without exploiting the affected persons.

 “The new section will ensure the relevant stakeholders are involved in the process of developing such policy guidelines to ensure the process of referral to hospitals outside the country is not subjected to abuse,” reads the bill in part.

Kenyans fly out

 The Bill, currently before the National Assembly, comes as Kenyans continue to fly out of the country in search of effective and affordable medication.

 Among the countries that Kenyans have made frequent visits to seek treatment in the areas such as oncology, cardiac surgery, advanced neuro-spine surgery, transplant surgery and assisted reproductive technology include India, South Africa, UK and US.

 Currently, the policy guidelines for the referral of patients abroad are governed by the government body responsible for the registration and licensing of medical practitioners and dentists in consultation with the National Hospital Insurance Fund.

 According to the bill, new policy guidelines will ensure that adequate measures are put in place to establish whether the health institutions to which the patient is referred outside the country possess “adequate” health equipment and health personnel.

 Any health facility that refers a patient to a health institution outside the country, the bill says, will be required to ensure that “adequate” consultations have been undertaken with the Kenyan mission in the country in which the referral is made so as to establish the credibility of the health institutions.

Nyikal’s move comes at a time when the country is using rules developed by Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council in case of referrals.