How OC’s At-Home COVID Testing Program Works

The Ambry Genetics at-home COVID-19 test is accessible to anyone in Orange County. Photo credit Ambry Genetics.

Orange County sprinted to the front of the nation in implementing the first free at-home COVID testing program. As The Vine reported in November, the program would initially serve only the hardest hit communities of Santa Ana and Anaheim, but eventually roll out to all of Orange County. The roll out is here.

Ambry Genetics, an Orange County-based biotech firm, is responsible for providing and processing the at-home testing kits in partnership with telehealth company PWN. We connected with Ambry’s VP of Commercial Operations, Laura Panos Smith, to find out more.

The Vine: After a request for a testing kit is submitted online, who reviews the order to determine whether or not to approve it?

Panos Smith: We have partnered with a third party telemedicine group called PWN Health. They have a set of required fields that they need to have in order to approve the test. So we collect all of that data on the front end when the patient is registering their account and we send that over to PWM to review and approve.

The Vine: What happens if someone orders a kit outside of Orange County?

Panos Smith: Right now, the way the program is set to validate is based on your residential address. So as long as you're inputting an address that is within Orange County, it will approve the testing and send you the kit. If you try to register and you provide Los Angeles or San Diego or some other city and state combination, we would be unable to send you a kit, and an error message would pop up saying this program is restricted to residents of Orange County.

The Vine: If the kit is ordered and then never returned, does anyone follow up?

Panos Smith: Not at this time. We're looking for additional follow up emails that would be sent out through the platform to remind the individual to register the kit online and to send it back to us. So that's a future enhancement that we're looking to build here.

The Vine: If a test is negative, I understand that the user receives an email. And if it's positive, I believe the user receives a phone call. Is that correct?

Panos Smith: If it's positive, it actually goes two places. So it goes into the portal and they receive a phone call. We have a few different ways that we would be able to reach them. They'd get that notification that it's ready. They could log into the portal, and then we'll have somebody from PWN will actually call them to walk through the implications of a positive test result.

The Vine: Is the person that follows up from PWN a nurse or a physician?

Panos Smith: They're a part of the health care team.  They would be able to help explain the results to the patient and help them understand what their next step would be.

The Vine: What happens if a COVID positive patient cannot be reached on the phone?

Panos Smith: Our partners at PWN will attempt to reach the patient three times in a 24 hour period, and will send a letter in the mail if they are unable to reach the patient.   

The Vine: In terms of the of access to the portal, is someone keeping track of whether or not a person with a positive test has logged back in to review that information?

Panos Smith: We can definitely see that information, but I don't think that we are actually going back in to confirm who has seen it and who has not.

 The Vine: Is there a limit to how many times an individual or a household can order a testing kit?

Panos Smith: Today there is not. We are looking at placing a limit on individuals so that we can save some of the supplies and resources for other members of the community who need testing. We're looking at placing a limit so that once you order your test kit, you could not go back into the system to order another one until you've gotten the results from the first one. You don't need to test until you have your results back from the initial test.

The Vine: What do you want readers to know about this program?

Panos Smith: It's easy and it's remote. When we were designing this program, we wanted to make sure patients didn't have to leave their house to go to a clinic where there's other people who may have COVID as well and expose themselves unnecessarily. So the fact that we have a program that's automated, you can do it on your phone or computer and in a couple of minutes get yourself a kit and test in the privacy as well as safety of your own environment. We really felt like that was the biggest selling point, and the residence of Orange County are certainly echoing that sentiment with the overwhelming response we've gotten from people wanting to test through us.

The Vine: How has the response been so far?

Panos Smith: We have gotten so many people from Orange County to register. We're continuing to increase our capacity and increase the amount of kits we have available so that we can continue to accommodate the requests that are coming in.

The Vine: How many tests are available each day?

Panos Smith: We are increasing the number of available kits each week.

The Vine: What, in your mind, is the biggest success of this program?

Panos Smith: I think how quickly we were able to set it up, is what I would define as one of the biggest successes. You know, we had the CARE platform aligned for oncology testing. So we already had this software platform in place. We had played with it with some employer groups in converting it to the COVID space so we could test employer populations. And then when we engaged with Orange County, we were able to make a few minor changes to stand this program up really quickly. The timing of it worked out well, not only from a speed perspective. It also aligned with the stay-at-home orders and the purple tier and the new resurgence of cases. Being able to provide the service, I think at a time of need for the community, really has helped us be successful.

While tests are currently limited, the plan is to produce up to 500,000 test kits by the end of 2020.

If you need a COVID test and live in Orange County, you can order an at-home saliva-based testing kit online. It will ship within 24-48 hours, depending on when it is ordered. If the sample is collected correctly (following kit instructions), the test is nearly 100% accurate according to Ambry. Results will be available within 24 hours after shipping the test kit back.

Additional options for testing options include our Orange County Super Sites and City of Irvine testing spots.