Even though vaccines are increasingly available, experts say only with repeat, accessible – and obviously accurate – COVID-19 testing will life return to normal. They advise that ubiquitous testing will be key to containing outbreaks and tracking surges from more infectious variants of the virus.
Unfortunately, most COVID-19 PCR tests – the “gold standard” – are still cost-prohibitive and results take too long for businesses, schools, airports and sports venues trying to fully and safely reopen.
The solution is rapid, accurate, inexpensive and mobile PCR COVID-19 tests – which until recently were impossible.
Now, labs that embrace technology to completely automate and streamline processing can test people for COVID-19 anywhere it’s required – including workplaces, schools, airports and sports venues – and report results from PCR tests to patients in less than one hour.
All that’s required is a vehicle like a van or RV, a Wi-Fi hotspot, and an advanced laboratory information management system (LIMS). A Southern California-based lab was among the first in the country to offer mobile COVID-19 PCR testing, using GoMeyra, a cloud-based LIMS that was developed during the pandemic.
Vitae Diagnostics provided PCR COVID-19 testing for the staff and performers at “VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World,” filmed in early May 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. At the event, Vitae set up a mobile operation (pop-up tent) in the parking lot, and cleared or denied participants for entry in less than one hour based on a positive or negative test result shared in real time through a smartphone mobile app.
“Now we’re able to turn around 300 PCR tests every hour – that’s a game-changer,” said Vitae founder Sam Kabbani.
Only when processes are fully automated can labs grow their operations to handle such unprecedented volumes – as many as 10,000 samples per day – accurately and efficiently. Relying on imperfect humans at every stage just impedes the process.
Manually entering information exponentially increases the amount of time it takes to create orders and accession samples – not to mention invites human error and data omissions that compromise tests. Any missing information slows down processing and derails accurate results.
The right technology can make or break a lab trying to offer mobile testing, process more samples and increase efficiencies. Using an all-in-one, automated digital solution provides all the functionality a lab requires – including the facilitation of ordering, accessioning, data processing, billing, inventory management and reporting.
At Las Vegas-based Pro Am Sports Medicine (formerly Athlete Advantage Medical) – a leading provider of boxing and combat sports medical examinations and injury treatment services – automating the company’s COVID-19 testing operations has fueled unprecedented growth.
“Before we fully automated our processing, we were only handling COVID testing for one client, and that took three staff members and eight hours to manually enter 200 patient records and order tests for each event,” said James Murphy, Pro Am Sports Medicine CEO and co-founder. “Now, it takes just one person a few minutes to order tests and run reports, so we can process thousands of patients in the same time it used to take for a couple hundred. Our fully automated LIMS has allowed us to scale our business and increase our client count by more than 700 percent so far, while simplifying the process and providing more accurate results than ever before.”
Labs and companies like Pro Am Sports Medicine that automate their operations prevent costly mistakes and increase their ability to serve more patients. They also avoid complicating their businesses by using different systems for different jobs, which creates significant IT challenges since various platforms usually are not integrated with one another. When they operate independently, lab operators must translate and analyze data from each one, resulting in slower processing, increased errors and potential bottlenecks.
“All of that extra work also requires a larger workforce, which translates to higher overhead and a greater likelihood of human error,” said Kabbani. “Automation saves time, simplifies the entire process and virtually eliminates human errors. It also streamlines sample management by tracking where samples are located and when they expire.”
That means labs no longer have to use paper – which is time-consuming, unreliable, and can be destroyed or lost – to trace samples and determine when to dispose them. In a fully automated LIMS, every sample is electronically documented and tracked – from the moment a lab receives it. Precise traceability built into a LIMS provides exact locations for all samples, right down to the refrigerator, tray and well numbers where they can be found.
A true, fully automated and customizable LIMS also projects inventory needs and processing costs by tracking the reagents different types of tests require and labs use. There are no more error-prone, separate spreadsheets to analyze costs when the LIMS automatically does all those calculations with electronically documented accuracy.
Automating the process eliminates manual steps and the errors that go with them, while cutting costs and enabling lab operators to conduct onsite tests wherever they are needed. It all adds up to faster, more reliable and accessible results – whether tests are run through a lab or a mobile operation with an Internet connection.
The pandemic amplified challenges labs have been facing for years, from staffing shortages to outdated technology. But it also inspired innovation that will move the industry forward in a way that benefits lab operators and their constituents. Labs can grow their businesses while better serving consumers with fast, accurate test results; healthcare providers with reliable, timely processing so they can quickly diagnose and treat their patients; and enterprise-level organizations or venues when reengaging visitors post-pandemic.
About the Author: Jaswant S. Tony is the founder of GoMeyra, a comprehensive and fully customizable cloud-based laboratory information management solutions (LIMS). Tony has more than 20 years of experience designing, developing, configuring and troubleshooting both large enterprise and service-provider networks, and holds a Master of Science degree with a specialization in computer science.