Quest Offering " Consumer-Initiated " COVID-19 Antibody Testing

We are still far from the development of an organized, rational lab testing strategy for COVID-19 sat the national level. Whatever plan that exists today is marked by a lack of federal coordination and divisive political messaging. This mix of confusion and contradictory messages continues with the two major for-profit national reference labs, Quest and LabCorp, now offering COVID-19 antibody testing directly to consumers (see:Quest's new service lets customers request COVID-19 antibody test). Below are the details:Quest Diagnostics announced that it will be offering a “consumer initiated” COVID-19 antibody test for $119. Dubbed Quest Direct, the service will let consumers request the antibody test through an online platform. Once the request is initiated it is sent to a licensed physician, who greenlights the testing order. Patients can then go to a Quest service center to get their blood drawn, and get results within one to two days via an online portal. Patients can also tap into telehealth services to discuss their results with a doctor. The antibody testing will be based on tests from Abbott and EUROIMMUN....According to Quest, Abbott reports a 99.4% specificity for its antibody test, and EUROIMMUN AG is reporting a 98.5% to 99% specificity. The tests will be specifically aimed at testing for COVID-19 antibodies, which means the test is not meant to be used to determine whether or not a person is positive for the virus....The other issue is that test ...
Source: Lab Soft News - Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Diagnostics Epidemiology Lab Industry Trends Medical Consumerism Preventive Medicine Public Health Source Type: blogs