His Excellency, the Minister of Health, Dr. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah has launched today (Sunday) the Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) National Program being implemented by King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH). The minister praised the KKESH's active role in developing the ophthalmology services in the Kingdom and its contribution in saving the vision of thousand preemies during the past forty years. He pointed out that the program, the first-of-its-kind in the Kingdom, will contribute to preventing 400 cases of preemies blindness annually, as well as promoting community health in general.
It is noteworthy that the program aims to protect premature babies in the Kingdom from loss of vision and to provide timely medical care. The program is one of the preventive means to prevent blindness in premature babies.
In its first phase, the program covers neonatal intensive care units in MOH's hospitals across the Kingdom. It uses 21 digital cameras to depict the fundus of the preemies eyes and send pictures to the hospital's retinal consultants, who make medical report and recommendation for treatment and send them electronically to the hospital.
The program is enhanced with cutting-edge technologies and specialized medical cadres, and is implemented by the hospital's IT department.