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Hershey Medical Center to launch COVID-19 test yielding results in 12 to 24 hours

In the coming weeks, the Hershey Medical Center Clinical Laboratory will have increased COVID-19 testing capabilities, which will minimize dependence on external vendors, such as Quest Diagnostics, for high volume testing.

Delays in the turnaround time for COVID-19 tests prompted hospital leadership to explore alternatives leading to the decision to invest in internal testing equipment.

This new equipment is Hershey Medical Center’s first high-throughput automated instrument for COVID-19 testing and one of the highest throughput platforms available. The expected test turnaround time when fully implemented will be 12 to 24 hours.

During the month of December, the lab will transition away from Quest at Penn State Health COVID-19 testing sites. Staff will work with stakeholders to reassess timelines for patient swabbing in order to streamline the process and reduce the time from swab collection to test result.

As part of the transition process, lab staff will use a new Cerner order, COVID-19 Coronavirus Next Day, for in-house automated testing. It will be available for order in both the inpatient and ambulatory catalogs.

The current external test order will be deactivated when no longer needed. Additional communication about this change will be in the CareConnect weekly newsletter.

Several new automated testing platforms will come online in the next few months at the Medical Center and drastically increase internal testing capabilities for the entire health system. As these platforms become available, additional information regarding test orders and capabilities will be communicated.

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