Main Line Health, parent company of both Bryn Mawr Hospital and Lankenau Hospital, is one of the growing numbers of health systems to now offer “drive-through testing” for coronavirus infection to make the process safer and faster, and tests more available, writes Marie McCullough for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Main Line Health’s drive-through testing centers are available in Newtown Square and Radnor for patients referred by a Main Line doctor.
The tests are processed by Quest, with results usually ready in three to five days. Patients without a doctor’s referral will be unable to get tested at these locations.
To get a referral for testing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises patients with symptoms that include fever, cough, and breathing issues to alert a doctor’s office and make an appointment.
At the sites, patients’ nasal and throat swabs are collected and then shipped to a high-complexity lab that performs a molecular analysis to look for coronavirus DNA.
The cost of this testing that was a major issue for many at the start of the crisis should no longer be a barrier to getting tested, as big health insurance companies and Medicare/Medicaid have said they will cover it.
Read more about Main Line Health at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.
