THREAD: On #COVID19 testing, another way to increase total capacity is to make sure machines that are available are being used near capacity. That's not happening now. There are things we can do to sharply increase testing rates by squeezing more out of our current platforms: 1/n
1. Starts with getting labs to use machines they have. Right now, platforms aren't being used at full capacity, in part because some smaller labs say reimbursement for technical component too low. No excuse for that. Congress, CMS will step in. All labs need to step up in crisis.
This is especially true when it comes to Abbott M2000, a widely available platform. Labs should be made whole, and reimbursement levels made complete. But in crisis moment, policy may be slower to catch up to the reality on the ground. We all must step up. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
2. Also means making sure demand matches supply in local markets. We don't have truly national market for tests because it's not efficient or effective to ship samples long distances. So some markets have more capacity and less demand, others lots of demand and limited capacity.
Big clinical labs like LabCorp and Quest are swing capacity, and they've directed their services to markets that need it most. Going forward we should continue to direct platforms to highest risk, highest demand markets that lack capacity right now, as part of national approach.
We need to increase platforms and kits to get to right coverage levels, but there's also much more capacity in current system if all labs already in game do their part. We can get many more tests, maybe double current output, by getting the systems in place to run at fuller tilt.
Finally, we need to get more coverage to very highest risk environments. High on that list is nursing homes. @SeemaCMS has taken many steps to create incentives for getting more testing to point of care in nursing homes. Medicare now pays labs to go out and collect samples.
