E-finance Company, specialised in operating financial institutions, signed a cooperation protocol with the hospitals of Alexandria University to develop medical services and facilitate the booking process for outpatient clinics. It will also enable safe easy payment methods. The protocol aims to facilitate the provision of medical services for patients and activate the use of information and communication technology of the average citizens' daily life. The agreement makes it possible for patients to pay fees electronically using different methods, such as points of sales, mobile phones, Visa and MasterCard, and fees payment on the company website. Chairman of E-finance Ibrahim Sarhan said this cooperation is the first of its kind in Egypt, and depends on the company's advanced infrastructure. To keep pace with the most advanced technological systems, Alexandria University contracted with E-finance to provide booking services fir outpatient clinics through phones and collect fees for hospitals electronically, to facilitate procedures for patients. The system relies on electronic channels enabled by the electronic payment and collection centre managed by E-finance in cooperation with commercial banks, through the settlement mechanism approved by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). The hospital will be equipped with 12 LCD screens in waiting areas to enable patients to keep track of patients' lists and know their waiting times. The company designed and developed programmes needed for electronic payment systems to provide technical support. It will also conduct the necessary follow-up reports on the work, the collection process, and the required monitoring process. Hisham Kozo, the manager of project to mechanise university hospitals and the supervisor of Communications and Information Technology at Alexandria University, praised the hospitals of Alexandria Universities. The hospitals serve four governorates: Alexandria, Beheira, Kafr El -Sheikh, and Marsa Matrouh. Approximately 100,000 patients that visit the hospitals every month, he noted, adding that the cooperation comes within Alexandria University's plan to digitise its hospitals. The university began the plan recently in cooperation with Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
