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why are we offering covid-19 testing?
WE BELIEVE BROAD and reliable TESTING is essential to recovery!
At Beacon Health Sciences, we believe broad and reliable testing for COVID-19 and antibodies are key in our fight against COVID-19. Our approach to helping our patients has been centered around patient education, remote telemedicine services and assistance with required COVID-19 testing at authorized laboratories and county locations. A key component of COVID-19 detection and reopening businesses is to diligently screen returning workforce with a multi-modal approach to be able to detect either active COVID-19 infections or those who may have been exposed, but currently asymptomatic and/or recovering.
We applaud and fully support Governor Murphy's "The Road Back: Restoring Economic Health Through Public Health" for the welfare of all New Jersey communities. To support Governors Murphy and Cuomo’s roadmaps to open up businesses in New Jersey and New York, we are now extending the FDA-approved saliva test (Rutgers test for COVID-19 infection) and antibody screening services to our patients and local businesses. Both these tests are available as a drive-through at our clinic, which are being offered by CLIA-certified laboratories. The drive through location at our clinic is provided so that patients can conveniently access these tests without the need to go into crowded waiting rooms or collection centers to minimize accidental risk of exposure.
Patients have two options for the FDA-approved COVID-19 testing (only):
- They can visit our drive-through location and provide their saliva sample; or,
- We can mail the at-home collection kit and the samples can be collected per instructions and sent back to the lab.
Antibody screenings require a blood draw by authorized lab personnel, which can only be done at the drive-through location.
There are two steps for patients to avail of these services:
1. MEDICAL SCREENING: our licensed physicians will assess your information and request and and provide a prescription for screening, and
2. INDEPENDENT AUTHORIZED LAB TESTING: through us, you can then schedule screening for either of the two tests (COVID-19 or antibody) or go to a lab of your choice with our prescription.
MEDICAL SCREENING FOR COVID-19
Get your screening in 3 simple steps: STEP 1) Fill in your information, STEP 2) Through us, schedule convenient drive-through screening by an independent & authorized lab. Make your physician fee payment. STEP 3) Our physicians will send prescription for testing (to drive through location or lab of your choice).
we work with all major laboratories in the region
accurate diagnostic labs
accurate diagnostic labs
accurate diagnostic labs
For your convenience, drive through collection of sample, at-home collection or at one of their locations.
quest diagnostics
accurate diagnostic labs
accurate diagnostic labs
Testing at one of their locations.
labcorp
accuref laboratories
accuref laboratories
Testing at one of their locations.
accuref laboratories
accuref laboratories
accuref laboratories
For your convenience, drive through collection of sample, at-home collection or at one of their locations.
COVID-19 MEDICAL SCREENING
PROVIDE YOUR PAYMENT INFORMATION
Note: this covers physician services, administrative support and operations. You will receive a physician directive for the required test after payment. To book appointment: 1) Submit your Health Insurance Coverage Information, & 2) Book your appointment online
INDEPENDENT AND AUTHORIZED LAB TESTING
STEP 3: screening test
Our physician team will issue the prescription for the required test and it will be available to the authorized lab personnel at our drive-through location. You can complete the testing at our drive-through location on your set appointment date and Alternatively, we will send the prescription to the lab of your choice.
covid-19 antibody screening test
Doing our part in the battle against covid-19
Our fight against COVID-19 requires a coordinated response on the part of everyone. Every section of the community has its role to play. At Beacon Health Sciences, we are doing our part to support public health and safety by offering medical screening from licensed physicians and helping potential virus carriers, who may have developed antibodies by providing scheduling/administrative support to schedule the actual antibody screening test being offered by independent and authorized labs. Working together, our goal is to identify those antibody carriers who can potentially help donate much needed plasma to others in need.
Most serology tests offered by authorized labs utilize a lateral flow immunoassay test for coronavirus infection that measures the levels of Immunoglobin M (IgM) /Immunoglobin G (IgG) antibodies. The immune system is the first line of defense when virus and external pathogens invade our body. These invaders are called antigens and our immune system fights them by producing antibodies. There are two forms of immune response; primary and secondary. IgM is produced by the body as part of our primary response followed by IgG during our secondary immune response. By measuring these levels, we are able to analyze a number of characteristics about the progression of viral infection in the body.
Thus, this test can be used to screen carriers of the virus who are symptomatic or asymptomatic. Recent studies suggest that a high percentage of patients show no clinical symptoms of the virus, thus screening is vitally important from a community health perspective. Most authorized labs offer results in 1-3 days.
You can contact the authorized lab that conducts your screening test to receive additional details on the turnaround time and get further clarifications.
getting your medical screening
Due to high demand, our medical screening and scheduling with an authorized lab is on availability basis. Click below to start your registration.
various forms of testing for covid-19
Difference between IgM/IgG rapid (serological) vs. molecular testing
Currently, there are two main types of tests to look for SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease: molecular and antibody testing.
Molecular tests detect the presence of the virus in body fluids like nasal and pharyngeal discharge (a direct test on the presence of the virus). These tests are largely based on reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique to transcribe, multiply and detect viral RNA. Testing typically involves a healthcare professional using nasopharyngeal or/and oropharyngeal swab to collect the sample which are then sent to specialized laboratories for analysis. Results can take hours to days or even weeks to perform depending on laboratory location and testing capacity. New molecular tests are being approved that use isothermal nucleic acid amplification with a portable device that could lead to faster and more accurate results.
Serological tests that detect antibodies to the virus in human blood (an indirect test of the virus) based on immunoassay technique and detect the presence of antibodies to the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease COVID-19) in whole blood, plasma or serum. Serological tests are typically performed as a venipuncture procedure (ELISA methodology) or finger prick to collect blood samples by an authorized laboratory. Serological tests can be qualitative and quantitative.
Other forms of tests are rapidly evolving and we encourage you to visit the FDA's website to stay abreast of latest news an any additional testing methods that have been registered and approved:
why are antibody tests an important asset in our fight again
how antibody tests can help
Our fight against COVID-19 requires a multi-prong testing approach and care protocol. A key aspect is stratification of patients/subjects for testing based on risk assessment, care requirements and need with prioritization for most sick patients and frontline health care workers. Boosting molecular testing methods with additional screening methods like antibody IgM/IgG testing can benefit the larger population by identifying and isolating those who are carrying the virus, but not symptomatic and sick enough to be admitted to acute care facilities and/or additional testing. It can help relieve already strained testing resources, minimize load on hospital systems and identify those in the general population who are asymptomatic carriers of the virus thus reducing the risk of further infection. In addition, it may also help in identifying those who have developed the antibodies and who can return to the general population and contribute to the economy and assist organizations in the fight. This is is most important given the limited capacity of healthcare and emergency workers.
The use of antibody tests are an important factor in better understand how much of the whole population is infected, especially given this virus can exhibit limited or no symptoms in some cases.
“Having a test gives us a sense of the prevalence in the community,” said Dr. Elitza Theel, director of the Infectious Diseases Lab at the Mayo Clinic. “It helps us determine case fatality rate when you have a true denominator of infected people. By identifying what percentage of the population has been infected, we can better determine how far the virus has spread. And at some point, we will reach a peak level of infection, at which point we will have reached herd immunity, when fewer individuals will be at risk of infection.” [1]
Many leading healthcare organizations including Mayo Clinic are researching use of antibody screening and diagnostic tests in additional to molecular methods. In addition, certain progressive communities like the ski-town of Telluride, Colorado are testing all of their residents for COVID-19 through antibody testing. [2]
1. Discovery's Edge. Mayo Clinic's Research Magazine. https://discoverysedge.mayo.edu/2020/03/31/covid-19-the-tale-of-1-virus-and-2-testing-methods/
2. Why coronavirus antibody testing in one Colorado town could provide a way forward. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/antibody-testing-colorado-town-provide-forward/story?id=69856623
