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Pharmacy-clinic model reshapes primary healthcare in Kenya
The pharmacy-clinic model integrates primary healthcare services into retail pharmacies, allowing patients to consult a clinician, undergo basic tests, receive treatment, and collect prescribed medicines in a single visit.
For a long time, seeking medical care in Kenya meant travelling to a hospital or health centre and spending hours in queues before seeing a clinician.
For many people, particularly those managing common illnesses, the time and cost involved have long prevented them from accessing care.
However, this is starting to change. Across Kenya, pharmacies are expanding their services to include neighbourhood primary healthcare, offering consultations, diagnostic tests, treatment for common illnesses and referrals, all in one place through a pharmacy-clinic model.
The pharmacy-clinic model integrates primary healthcare services into retail pharmacies, allowing patients to consult a clinician, undergo basic tests, receive treatment, and collect prescribed medicines in a single visit.
What was once merely a place to collect prescriptions is increasingly becoming the first point of contact with the healthcare system.
According to health economist Joshua Nyakundi, the pharmacy-clinic model changes where patients first encounter the health system.
“The fastest way to reach a patient isn't to build a new destination; it's to set up in the places people already go,” he explains.
Mr Nyakundi adds that having clinicians in pharmacies reduces the financial and time costs of seeking care. Patients who might otherwise postpone treatment due to transport costs, long waiting times, or the need to take time off work are more likely to seek help early.
Earlier diagnosis and routine follow-up, he says, could reduce unnecessary hospital visits and enable referral hospitals to focus on more specialised cases.
This shift comes at a time when Kenya's healthcare system is struggling to keep pace with growing demand. The 2025 Economic Survey shows that public hospital bed capacity fell from 40,814 in 2023 to 38,552 in 2024, while the population continued to grow.
One doctor for every 6,000
Meanwhile, the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) estimates that there is roughly one doctor for every 6,000 people in the country, far below the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommended ratio of one doctor for every 1,000 people.
The shortage is more severe outside major towns. While more than half of Kenya's doctors practise in urban areas, only around six percent serve rural communities, leaving millions of Kenyans having to travel long distances or wait for hours to receive treatment for conditions that often only require basic primary care.
These gaps have created opportunities for healthcare providers, insurers and pharmacy chains, who are increasingly moving into the sector by embedding clinics inside pharmacies, where patients already purchase medicines, rather than building more hospitals.
The latest development came last Tuesday when TIBU Health expanded its network of Minute Clinics inside Goodlife Pharmacy branches, deepening its strategy of providing healthcare in existing retail spaces, rather than expecting patients to travel to hospitals.
“TIBU Health is committed to ensuring that patients receive timely, affordable, quality healthcare in convenient locations,” says Karl Daniel, TIBU Health chief executive.
“Since many people first visit a pharmacy when they are unwell, partnering with Goodlife Pharmacy allows us to meet patients where they are.”
“This integration eliminates the necessity of travelling from a standalone clinic to a separate pharmacy, drastically reducing waiting times and improving patient compliance with prescribed treatments.”
The Minute Clinics offer consultations for common illnesses, chronic disease management, vaccinations, health screening, laboratory sample collection, and referrals for specialised treatment. Patients can also be linked to doctors via telemedicine for consultations and follow-up care.
The consultation fee ranges from Sh500 to Sh850, depending on the country in which the company is operating.
So far, the company says it has provided over 45,000 diagnoses and administered over 2,500 vaccines.
Last month, French development financier Proparco invested an undisclosed amount in the company to support its expansion. TIBU announced it had become profitable in January 2025 following an operational restructuring.
“By combining mini-clinics within pharmacies with a centralised medical hub, TIBU enables thousands of patients, particularly those in lower- and middle-income groups, to access essential, high-quality healthcare services,” said Proparco deputy chief executive Djalal Khimedee.
TIBU is one of several organisations that believe pharmacies will become the country's next major primary healthcare platform.
In 2023, Old Mutual Health launched Pharmacy First in partnership with Halton Pharmacy and Goodlife Pharmacy, placing clinicians, nurses, and pharmacists inside selected branches.
Members can receive consultations and treatment as part of their medical coverage, without paying additional consultation fees.
“We are proud to have designed the Pharmacy First programme and pioneered it with Old Mutual,” said mPharma co-founder and chief executive Gregory Rockson when the partnership was launched, describing it as part of a broader effort to reposition pharmacies as community healthcare centres rather than simply retailers of medicine.
Another company that has opted for a technology-led model instead of establishing its own clinics is Livia Health. Founded in 2017 as an online medicine-ordering platform, it has evolved into a pharmacy benefits management company connecting pharmacies, clinicians, laboratories, insurers and patients through its ExpressHub platform.
The company has set up private consultation rooms in a network of over 400 partner pharmacies, which are supported by more than 2,000 registered doctors. Patients visiting participating pharmacies can consult with clinicians, receive prescriptions, access diagnostic services, and obtain referrals where necessary.
Insurers, including Old Mutual, Britam Health, and Pacis Insurance, use the platform to coordinate outpatient care.
However, this trend is not new. Years before technology firms entered the market, traditional pharmacy chains had begun moving in the same direction.
For example, Malibu Pharmacy, which started life as a stand-alone pharmacy on Nairobi's Mfangano Street in the early 1990s, gradually introduced consultation services and medical counselling, partnering with insurers including AAR, Britam and First Assurance along the way.
These partnerships enabled insured patients to access routine outpatient care closer to home, rather than travelling to hospitals for every consultation.
In 1997, Child and Family Wellness (CFW) Shops pioneered one of Kenya's earliest pharmacy-clinic models by combining licensed medicine outlets with basic clinical services in underserved communities where hospitals and health centres were scarce.
Now rebranded as CFW Clinics and run by the HealthStore Foundation, the network is still active today, with nurse practitioners operating outlets across the country.
