Rapid PCR COVID-19 Tests Help Keep Healthcare Staff at Work and Focused on Patient Care

Case study on how an easy-to-use, affordable point-of-care PCR platform delivers COVID-19 results in ~30 minutes to help a hospital run safely and efficiently.

Staff shortages due to COVID-19 have placed enormous pressure on hospitals and healthcare facilities [1]. As beds fill up and medical workers fall ill, finding the resources to provide the critical care and services needed, especially during pandemic surges, is a major challenge. While healthcare professionals frequently work through minor ailments and discomfort, the pandemic changed things — even common, mild symptoms now mean possibly exposing people to a deadly disease. Following this shift, access to reliable testing has become an important tool in helping hospital staff to do their jobs, safely.

Offering a more seamless patient experience was a definite win, however maintaining the ability to provide much needed care during such a critical time was probably the greatest benefit WMC gained from using the Accula platform. “Getting through the Omicron surge was especially challenging because this variant can present similarly to other common health issues. We were having to send people home for very minor symptoms,” Walton said. “When we had 80 COVID-19 patients on the floor and not enough people to take care of them, the Accula SARS-CoV-2 Test allowed us to bring employees back to work much quicker, on the same day. There were times when we tested 40 to 50 employees a day. We felt confident we were protecting both our patients and our workforce using an accurate PCR test with a quick turnaround time. From a staffing perspective, it saved us.”

Walton noted that another significant benefit she sees with the Accula platform is that all test components — test cassettes, swabs, buffer, and controls — are packaged as a kit. “One thing I really like about this test is that everything you need comes together. You’re not struggling trying to find swabs or buffer or needing to take extra steps to validate components.”

Walton shared that the nurses who collect patient samples like that the test relies on the use of an anterior nasal swab, which is easier to collect than more-invasive nasopharyngeal samples. Having these anterior nasal swabs included in the test kit was very helpful, and it was relatively easy for the team to build a workflow around the Accula test collection and processing for this reason. “The instructions that come with the kit are excellent, so we placed them in all the areas where collection is happening. Overall, the system didn’t require a lot of training. It’s easy to operate and everybody caught on very quickly,” she said.

WMC now has nine Accula docks on site and, during COVID-19 surges, was able to run up to 100 tests a day. While hospitals and laboratories are still navigating ongoing supply chain issues, the Thermo Fisher Scientific customer service and technical support teams have been supportive in addressing any issues and providing WMC with kits to meet the hospital’s testing needs.

Williamson Medical Center is located about 30 minutes south of Nashville and has expanded in recent years to meet the community’s increasing healthcare needs. Walton has played an active role in adapting laboratory services to accommodate the increasing patient volume, and she also remains intimately connected to the needs of labs in rural community settings. Following a recent visit to a smaller hospital, she observed ongoing COVID-19 test challenges. “The lab couldn’t get reagents or kits. It’s very difficult for smaller hospitals because they might not have the budget to buy a big instrument. They want to perform PCR, but there are a lot of expenses associated with larger systems and most community hospitals have limited space,” said Walton.

The Accula platform includes a portable, palm-sized dock that plugs into a standard outlet, with a 10-second dock initiation/start-up and no data entry required. Walton says this testing platform offers a great, affordable testing solution for smaller hospitals with a limited budget and space for testing, but institutions simply don’t know what testing options are available. “Having a very small platform that is accurate, easy to use, and quick would be a gamechanger for rural hospitals. They would only need one or two docks, and the docks are not that expensive. The initial upfront costs are minimal, and the tests are cheaper than most. I think the biggest hurdle for rural hospitals is that they don’t even know that the Accula test is out there and that they can afford it,” she said.

Healthcare professionals expect that COVID-19 case counts will fluctuate over time, possibly like the seasonal flu. Because COVID-19 and flu symptoms overlap and treatment varies, being able to reliably confirm which virus a person has will remain critical. Walton believes PCR platforms will continue to be preferred into the future due to their superior accuracy and reliability versus antigen tests [2], along with institutional requirements and patient awareness. “PCR is just a better test,” she said. “We’ve seen too many false positives and too many false negatives with antigen tests. Patients might not know exactly how the technology works, but they know PCR is a better test,” she continued.

Walton sees a continued need for rapid, point-of-care PCR testing in the next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other infectious diseases such as the flu. “Most people who visit our lab want to know what we use to test for COVID-19 and I’m like, ‘You’ve got to come and look at this.’ I show them how it works, and they love it because there aren’t enough PCR options like this. A lot of the other platforms are much larger, more expensive, and complicated to operate. For a PCR platform, the Accula test is so easy and cost effective.”

To learn more about the Thermo Fisher Scientific rapid PCR test for COVID-19, go to the Accula SARS-CoV-2 Test webpage or contact us to request a quote.

References:
1. Covid-19: Staff absences are continuing to stretch NHS hospitals, say leaders | The BMJ
2. JCM | Diagnostic Accuracy of Rapid Antigen Test Kits for Detecting SARS-CoV-2: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 17,171 Suspected COVID-19 Patients (mdpi.com)

Disclaimer: This Accula SARS-CoV-2 Test has not been FDA cleared or approved but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA for use by laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988, 42 U.S.C. §263a, that meet requirements to perform high, moderate, or waived complexity tests. The test is authorized for use at the Point of Care (POC), i.e., in patient care settings operating under a CLIA Certificate of Waiver, Certificate of Compliance, or Certificate of Accreditation. This test has been authorized only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens. The emergency use of this test is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization is revoked sooner.

For Use under the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) Only. For prescription use only. For in vitro diagnostic use.