DMMC INSTITUTE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, INC., the current host facility of NSC SOUTHERN LUZON, is a private institution that was incorporated under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines and registered with the SEC last August 21, 2002. The school was a result of DMMC's (Daniel O. Mercado Medical Center) commitment to provide affordable quality health care through competent and highly skilled medical personnel. ... Read more
The Lopez Quezon Extension Office is dedicated to extending essential newborn screening services to the communities in Lopez, Quezon, and surrounding areas. This office serves as a vital hub for improving access to early detection of congenital disorders, ensuring that every newborn receives timely and accurate screening.
To be recognized as an institution providing quality Newborn Screening services and extensive coverage of live births across Southern Luzon.
Select a province to view Newborn Screening Center Facilities in that area
How to become a Newborn Screening Facility
*If you have not attended the training yet, please contact your respective CHD.
**Additional requirement:
All inquiries for training will be forwarded to the respective DOH-CHDs/BARMM-MOH. Training and orientation are being conducted by the DOH-CHD and BARMM/BARMM MOH.
For more guidance about the systematic implementation of NBS in your Institution, you may refer to the NCNBSS Manual of Operations or the Facilitator’s Guidebook: Newborn Screening in the Communities.
Other resources on newborn screening are also now available for downloads.
The Newborn Screening Certificate will be issued to all newborn screening facilities once they start performing newborn screening. It will be sent to the facility through the Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon (NSC-SL). NSC-SL will also issue a temporary certification to new facilities on their first purchase order, in lieu of possible delays in the processing of Newborn Screening Certificate.
Only the active Newborn Screening Facilities (NSFs) will receive annual newborn screening stickers. Basis for the activity is the newborn screening samples sent over the previous year under your facility name and code. It will be sent by the Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon via accredited courier together with your NBS results.
These are the possible reasons:
Please call or email the Newborn Screening Reference Center to check if your DOH-NIH certificate has been sent. Kindly send a letter stating non-receipt and request for a second copy. Once approved, the NSRC will process another certificate for your facility.
Kindly send a request letter with an affidavit of loss to NSRC.
While we are checking your NSF status and tracking your sticker, the Newborn Screening Reference Center will provide a certification in lieu of the annual sticker, upon request.
These are the possible reasons:
Please call or email the Newborn Screening Reference Center to check if your DOH-NIH certificate has been sent. Kindly send a letter stating non-receipt and request for a second copy. Once approved, the NSRC will process another certificate for your facility.
You may follow up your orders to our Purchasing Department at purchasing@nscsl.com.ph and supply@nscsl.com.ph.
Please send a formal communication signed by the Medical Director/Chief of Hospital/Municipal/City/Provincial Health Officer/Clinic Owner/Clinic Manager and attach any of the following documents:
If claim is denied due to duplication of the filter card number, you can get a certification from the Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon that the card was indeed released to your facility and submit it to PhilHealth with a copy of newborn screening test result when you file for a motion for reconsideration.
If it becomes frequent, report it to PhilHealth Main Office thru the Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon and/or the Newborn Screening Reference Center (NSRC).
Your facility may follow up with the concerned PhilHealth regional offices and reconcile the status of your claims.
For any updates, please visit PhilHealth’s website: www.philhealth.gov.ph where they post all PhilHealth circulars, advisories and news. Further inquiries may be directed to PhilHealth’s Corporate Action Center at (02) 441-74442 or through actioncenter@philhealth.gov.ph .
| Disorder Type | If NOT Screened | If Screened & Managed |
|---|---|---|
| Organic Acid Disorders |
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| Endocrine Disorders |
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| Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders |
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| Hemoglobinopathies |
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| Urea Cycle Defects |
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| Amino Acid Disorders |
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Newborn Screening (NBS) is a public health program where a few drops of blood are taken from the baby’s heel for testing to find out if your baby has a congenital disorder that may lead to mental retardation or even death if left untreated.
The expanded newborn screening program increased the screening panel of disorders from six (6) to twenty- nine.
Most babies with metabolic disorders look “normal” at birth. By doing ENBS, metabolic disorders may be detected even before clinical signs and symptoms are present. As a result of this, treatment can be given early to prevent consequences of untreated conditions.
ENBS is ideally done immediately after 24 hours from birth.
A few drops of blood are taken from the baby’s heel, blotted on a special absorbent filter card and then sent to Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon.
The blood sample for ENBS may be collected by any of the following licensed health care worker such as physician, nurse, medical technologist or trained midwife.
ENBS is available in hospitals, lying-ins, rural health units, health centers and some private clinics and laboratories.
Expanded newborn screening costs ₱1750 and is included in the Newborn Care Package (NCP) for PhilHealth members.
NCP is a PhilHealth benefit package for essential health services of the newborn during the first few days of life. It covers essential newborn care, expanded newborn screening, and hearing screening tests.
Newborns are eligible for NCP if ALL of the following are met:
Results can be claimed from the Newborn Screening Facility (NSF) where ENBS was availed. Normal ENBS results are available by 7 – 14 working days from the time samples are received at NSC-SL.
Positive ENBS results are relayed to the parents immediately by the NSF. Please ensure that the address and phone number you will provide to the health facility are correct.
A NEGATIVE SCREEN means that the ENBS result is normal.
A POSITIVE SCREEN means that the newborn must be brought back to his/her health practitioner for further testing.
Babies with positive results must be referred at once to a specialist for confirmatory testing and further management.
After the dried blood spot has been tested, it will be stored in a secure locked area. The stored sample is retained to allow for normal quality assurance and may be used for ethics committee approved researches for the benefit of the public.
Screening and confirmatory are two different tests and may produce different results. A screening test is done to identify the population at HIGH RISK while the confirmatory test either CONFIRMS or RULES OUT a condition in newborns with an out-of-range screening result.
A number of factors, including infant condition, treatment, and maternal status, increase the risk of missed or unreliable testing for premature, low birth weight, and sick newborns (e.g. abnormal results such as elevated amino acids may resolve at 28 days of life; thyroid function may have matured to expected levels at 28 days of life.) Initial screening cannot wait for 28 days because the goal of screening is to identify and treat every affected infant before the onset of symptoms, as it can result in irreversible mental and physical damage. Hence, there is a need to repeat their NBS on the 28th day of life to ensure the reliability of results. There are also numerous published international and local studies to back up this protocol.
Contact the facility that collected/sent the samples for confirmatory testing (e.g. Newborn Screening Center- Southern Luzon for Hemoglobinopathies, Thalassemia, and Metabolic Disorders; G6PD Confirmatory Testing Center for G6PD deficiency, etc.).
Newborn HEARING Screening test on the other hand, is a noninvasive test used to detect hearing loss in newborns using a tool called Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) or Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR). For more information about the hearing screening test, please visit http://www.nhsrc.ph or ask your doctor about it.
Interested to know more about the disorders screened by NBS? Download brochures and fact sheets here: Resources
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