eZ Cash joins Faculty of Medicine, Ruhuna Uni to support screening of newborns for congenital hypoth

Friday, 22 August 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna and eZ Cash haveteamed up to enable parents to pay for Congenital hypothyroidism screening of newborns at the Nuclear Medicine Unit of the Faculty of Medicine at Karapitiya, Galle. Congenital hypothyroidism is one of the most common preventable cause of mental retardation. Screening newborns and early Thyroxine replacement has dramatically improved the outcomes of intellectual potential and linear growth amongst children with Congenital Hypothyroidism. Within the first few days of life, drops of blood are collected from a newborn’s heel on to a filter paper and are analyzed at the laboratory of the Nuclear Medicine Unit to determine treatment. Through this partnership with eZ Cash, parents using Dialog and Etisalat mobile phones can now pay for this service using their mobile wallets. The test costs Rs. 306, and parents simply need to dial #111# from their Dialog or Etisalat mobile for eZ Cash, select institutional payments and then enter NBS at the institutional code to commence the transaction. Users will receive a reference number for the system to track the payment and test results. The incidence of Congenital Hypothyroidism is 1 in 1,500 live births since year 2011, when this programme was established in the Southern Province. Therefore, the Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians has recommended screening all neonates in Sri Lanka. Newborn Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism program of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna has now been extended to all parts of the country. With this collaboration any parent can now pay through eZ Cash and in return they will get the results as an SMS.