As the United States faces a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the healthcare industry is getting savvier about conducting COVID-19 tests and delivering test results.
On Long Island, Enzo Biochem, affiliated with the Farmingdale-based Enzo Clinical Labs, has launched an online platform that aids individuals in the process of requesting a test. Rather than visiting a clinic and filling out paperwork to get authorized for testing, Enzo’s new GoTestMeNow website allows people to do all the legwork online prior to going in for the actual test.
Barry Weiner, president of Enzo, said that needing to visit a doctor’s office to be approved for testing has become a barrier for many, “keeping thousands of people from getting tested each week.”
“Enzo’s GoTestMeNow platform enables people to access testing more easily and faster,” Weiner said, “with the oversight of a licensed physician but without the need to visit the doctor’s office.”
Individuals can request a test at gotestmenow.com. Then, they can follow the step-by-step process laid out on the website. A licensed physician will review the information and authorize the test.
All information, including insurance and payment, will be taken care of through the site. Then, the patient can visit one of Enzo’s lab locations to receive the test. Their results will be available through a secure, online portal. There are currently no wait times, and the service also offers COVID-19 antibody testing.
There are about a dozen testing sites linked to Enzo’s GoTestMeNow platform throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties, including in:
- Rockville Centre
- Massapequa
- Westbury
- Farmingdale
- Plainview
- Deer Park
- Bay Shore
- Coram
- Patchogue
- Smithtown
- Holbrook
- Ridge
COVID-19 cases have been on the rise on Long Island and across the country in recent weeks. On Monday, Long Island’s positivity rate was 3.5, meaning that out of all residents tested, 3.5 percent tested positive for the virus, according to New York State data.
Last week, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone urged anyone who thinks they could have been exposed to COVID-19 to get tested.
“Getting tested is the most effective way that we can track this virus,” he said, “because if you get tested and you are positive, we can isolate people, we can quarantine people who need to be quarantined so that we can stop the virus.”
In addition to COVID-19 testing, Enzo plans to add tests for other illnesses, such as sexually transmitted diseases, to the online platform.
To learn more about Enzo’s COVID-19 testing services, visit enzoclinicallabs.com/gotestmenow.
For more coronavirus coverage, visit longislandpress.com/coronavirus.
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