Quest Diagnostics announced the availability of an at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test service for consumer purchase.
Available through QuestDirect, the company’s consumer-initiated testing platform, the new service features proctored telehealth by which a trained technician observes proper sample collection, confirms identity, and certifies results reporting during a telehealth visit.
The offering—made available through a collaboration with eMed—enables the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test, a self-administered nasal swab antigen test that provides results in 15 minutes, to be used under observation from a certified telehealth proctor so that the user receives a laboratory report through eMed.
The report may be used for myriad purposes. Each test comes with certified telehealth proctoring already enabled for use globally at any time. Adults and children aged four and up may use the test. Each test kit contains a two-pack of tests.
Quest is collaborating with digital health company Truepill for order fulfillment and delivery. Leveraging Truepill’s API-connected digital health platform and nationwide pharmacy footprint, customers can expect to receive test kits within two to three business days of purchasing.
“Consumers and employers seek reliable, fast and easy testing solutions to help limit exposure to COVID-19 and ensure safer traveling and return to work. This QuestDirect offering complements our molecular laboratory testing services to increase access, convenience and flexibility to diagnostic insights,” says Cathy Doherty, senior vice president and group executive, Clinical Franchise Solutions and Marketing, Quest Diagnostics. “As a leader in the nation’s COVID-19 testing response, Quest Diagnostics is continually looking to broaden access to quality COVID-19 diagnostic insights, and this collaboration with eMed expands our ability to help individuals across the U.S. meet the challenge of COVID-19.”
The COVID-19 At-Home Rapid Antigen Tests are also available for bulk purchase of up to 1,000 kits at a time for employers through QuestDirect to qualified purchasers.
This new QuestDirect solution expands upon a collaboration between Quest Diagnostics and eMed launched in August 2021 to bring proctored rapid antigen COVID-19 testing to larger employers seeking to decrease the risk of COVID-19 exposure in their workplaces. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of employer population health and workplace drug testing services, serving thousands of employers across the United States, with services ranging from lab and biometric screening to behavioral and mental health interventions to telehealth, virtual care, and flu clinics.
“The eMed digital point-of-care platform for verified COVID-19 testing and results reporting continues to be an innovative solution in the health testing and diagnostic services space both for COVID testing and future distributed diagnostic testing needs,” says Michael Mina, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer, eMed. “We are excited to build upon our relationship with an industry leader like Quest Diagnostics, which allows us to expand our reach and increase accessibility to COVID-19 testing services, an important factor in mitigating COVID-19’s impact as variants continue to emerge.”
