Information and assistance with requesting testing through Dept of Public Health Lab

If your patient meets the current testing criteria, requests will be triaged through the DPH COVID-19 online test requisition system. For hospitalized patients, please also perform influenza testing, and a respiratory viral panel, if available.

All requests for COVID-19 testing through DPH must be submitted through the on-line requisition system to be considered. Public Health will not triage testing requests over the phone. All requests submitted in the system will reviewed between 8AM and 8PM.

 

Patient with respiratory illness who is NOT a healthcare worker or a contact to a confirmed case, or a patient who is NOT currently hospitalized

Testing for patients with mild respiratory illness and no known exposure is probably not indicated but if a provider wishes to test these patients, it should be performed through a commercial laboratory. LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, ARUP and other commercial labs are now performing testing for COVID-19; please call them or see their website for details on specimen submission. Please do not send mildly ill patients to emergency departments for testing as they are becoming overwhelmed, only patients whose condition warrants should be referred to EDs. Public Health approval is not required to submit samples for testing to private labs, and Public Health will not triage calls about these patients

 

For information about P P E and clinicians concerns about evaluating patients for COVID-19 in outpatient settings

CDC has recently updated its infection prevention guidance in healthcare facilities, specifically regarding level of P P E required for the evaluation and care of patients with COVID-19. Facemasks with eye protection are an acceptable alternative when the supply chain of N95 masks or respirators cannot meet the demand. Clinicians in outpatient settings can safely evaluate patients by following these recommendations. Before arrival, instruct patients to inform healthcare staff of possible exposure and illness. Ensure rapid triage and isolation of patients with symptoms of suspected COVID-19. Patients should be asked to wear a surgical mask upon arrival and be evaluated in a private room with the door closed, ideally an airborne infection isolation room, if available. Ideally, healthcare personnel entering the room should use standard precautions, contact precautions, airborne precautions, and use eye protection (e.g., goggles or a face shield). Eye protection, gloves, and gowns remain in the recommendations, although if gowns are in limited supply, they may be reserved for aerosol-generating procedures. For more information please refer to the C D C guidance for personal protective equipment for healthcare workers posted on cdc.gov.