Dear Patients of Signature Healthcare,
Effective Monday, Quest Diagnostics will likely be offering testing for coronavirus SARS-COV2. Along with LabCorp (which started the other day), this will help in screening for this disease and numbers confirmed around the country will likely dramatically increase. The specimen must be collected at a doctor's office or hospital.
*Signature now offers testing, but patients must follow the procedure detailed below or will be turned away.
DO NOT PRESENT TO THE OFFICE FOR TESTING, AS YOU SHOULD SELF-QUARANTINE UNTIL YOU SPEAK WITH YOUR SIGNATURE PHYSICIAN OR NURSE.
Appropriate reasons to be tested include:
- If you have had direct contact with a patient known to be positive for the COVID-19/SARS-COV2 within the prior two weeks.
- If you develop symptoms such as fever, chills, body aches and cough (similar symptoms to influenza so you may be tested for both) and have been in contact with an individual who may have been infected or have traveled to an area with reported cases.
If you feel you may require testing, follow these instructions:
- Call the office and let us know if you've had exposure or concerning symptoms.
- Arrange for a time (Monday to Friday) to drive to the SouthPark office and park in one of the reserved patient parking spaces across the driveway from the office (not directly in front of the office). Stay in your car and call the office to let us know that you’ve arrived. One of our nursing staff will come to your car to obtain vital signs and collect specimen(s). They will be wearing mask and gloves for protection.
- Specimen should be either a sputum sample coughed into a sterile cup or a nasal/ pharynx swab (our staff will bring the appropriate containers out to your car for collection). Testing is not accurate for individuals without symptoms and secretions, therefore we will NOT be testing anyone who doesn’t have symptoms and/or a documented exposure
- We will send to the appropriate lab for testing. Coverage for testing is based on your insurance but there is a push for plans to cover this test 100%.
- Results will take a few days so you should continue to self-quarantine until results are available.
- Per NC Department of Health and Human Services, you will be required to sign an agreement to remain at home and keep a log of visitors while awaiting the results of your test.
COVID-19 is a contagious disease and there remains no specific treatment or vaccine, so our goal is to limit the spread, especially to high-risk patients (such as many patients older than 60 years and those with heart or lung disease, diabetes, or immune suppression from cancer or conditions which require medications to suppress the immune system). The mortality rate appears to be higher than the common flu, but if you are healthy it is very likely that you will recover after experiencing only mild symptoms. Again, wearing a mask while traveling offers nothing and only gives you a false sense of security.
Sincerely,
Your Doctors, Nurses, and Staff at Signature Healthcare