Thousands of Kenyan health facilities can now access patient records faster and keep sensitive health data within the country after a global development and management consulting firm deployed cloud infrastructure to support the national electronic medical records system.
The deployment by Palladium using Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts allows Kenya's health sector to run cloud-based services on infrastructure physically located in Kenya, addressing concerns over data residency, system performance and access to patient information in areas with unstable internet connectivity.
The system supports Kenya Electronic Medical Records (KenyaEMR), which operates in more than 2,300 health facilities and manages chronic disease records nationwide.
At Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, clinicians access treatment histories, medication schedules and upcoming appointments through digital records that load instantly, replacing earlier delays linked to paper files and fragmented systems.
Palladium said the platform enables a single patient record across departments and facilities, allowing clinicians to view complete histories at every point of care.
“AWS Outposts allow institutions to bring the cloud physically closer to where critical data and services operate. It is a model that combines global cloud innovation with local sovereignty and performance needs,” said Teddy Berihun, vice president of digital technology and delivery at Palladium.
The deployment also supports the Kenya Health Management Information Systems III (KeHMIS III), which aggregates data from thousands of facilities into a national health data warehouse.
Palladium noted that local hosting reduces delays linked to routing data overseas while supporting compliance with Kenya’s data residency rules.
“With AWS Outposts, you can run AWS services in Kenya and connect seamlessly to a broad range of services in your nearest AWS Region for management and operations,” explained Jyoti Ball, general manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at AWS.
Ball added that organisations can run applications with low latency and regulatory compliance while retaining access to broader cloud tools.
The system is designed for facilities operating in environments with inconsistent internet and power supply.
Local compute capacity ensures clinicians can access and update records even during network disruptions, Palladium added.
For patients, the system strengthens continuity of care when they move between counties or referral facilities.
Security remains central as health systems digitise sensitive records.
“Patient information is encrypted at every stage, access is restricted to authorised personnel, and every interaction with the system is logged and audited,” Berihun explained.
The company said the platform complies with Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 and uses AWS security infrastructure.
Beyond healthcare, Palladium sees the model as applicable to financial services, government systems and other regulated sectors requiring both data sovereignty and cloud scalability.
The firm believes the architecture can be replicated across countries to reduce fragmentation in Africa’s digital infrastructure.
“Palladium’s investment is not simply about Kenya. It is about demonstrating a standardised, repeatable hybrid cloud architecture that can scale across sectors and regions,” Berihun observed.
He added that the approach could help governments develop interoperable systems without rebuilding infrastructure from scratch.
“Our collaboration with Palladium demonstrates AWS's commitment to accelerating digital transformation across Africa's priority sectors. By combining Palladium's expertise with AWS's secure, scalable cloud infrastructure, we're helping governments and organisations modernise systems and improve service delivery,” noted Ball.
