Kenya to Adopt ISO 7101:2023 Standard for Improved Healthcare Management

The Ministry of Health Kenya has announced plans to adopt ISO 7101:2023, the first international consensus standard for healthcare quality management.

Yesterday, the Principal Secretary for Medical Services, Mr Harry Kimtai, with top leadership from the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), including Managing Director Mrs Esther Ngari and Dr Wilson Aruasa, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors on Health, convened a meeting to discuss the implementation of the newly introduced standard focused on enhancing healthcare quality worldwide through structured management systems.

“This standard represents a progressive framework designed to address the challenges of a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, ensuring quality service delivery across the sector,” said PS Kimtai.

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“The ISO 7101:2023 standard provides a global benchmark for healthcare management systems, with an emphasis on the core pillars that drive healthcare excellence: leadership, risk management, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement.”

When assessing healthcare quality, several fundamental pillars serve as the cornerstone for evaluating and determining whether quality is, or not, prioritised within a healthcare organisation. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), these include measuring and scoring the service attributes such as effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, safety, timeliness, and patient satisfaction.

ISO 7101:2023 identifies critical areas to support these attributes by providing key quality metrics that organisations can implement to achieve better quality, thus improving the management approach to healthcare services.

The standard can be utilised by any healthcare organisation, regardless of size or location, as it creates the conditions for any size of medical institution to implement actions that, when met, ensure quality service delivery that refines patient outcomes and experiences.

PS Kimtai stated that the introduction of this standard will be transformational in the country’s healthcare environment, especially since it aligns closely with Kenya’s commitment to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC). It will first be adopted by National Referral Hospitals, County Hospitals, and the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Council of Governors.

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