‘Two weeks is insanity:’ Despite improvements, COVID test delays still an issue in Idaho
Stephan Bosch and his wife had already waited more than a week for her coronavirus test result in July.
Bosch’s wife was tested at a Saint Alphonsus clinic in Meridian, and she also signed a paper saying she would isolate for 10 days just to be safe. Bosch, who spoke to the Statesman on behalf of his wife, said they were concerned about the virus because his wife has asthma and was showing possible COVID-19 symptoms.
But all they could do was wait. And wait.
Two weeks after being tested, the Nampa couple received a letter in the mail saying the test returned negative. Despite the good news, they were frustrated that it took so long for the results. By that time, her symptoms had subsided.
“I just hope we were an outlier,” Bosch said — and data would indicate that’s exactly the case. But many Idahoans are stuck waiting days or even 2 weeks or so for results, and it varies no matter where you live.
COVID testing turnaround
Dr. Kathy Turner, deputy state epidemiologist for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, told the Statesman that even though hospitals and clinics around Idaho have expanded testing, some issues still persist. Where people are tested and what category the tests fall into are factors.
If a test is taken in a rural part of Idaho, sometimes just the act of packaging and shipping to an outside laboratory can affect wait times greatly.
“If you show up at the provider’s office late in the afternoon after specimens had been sent out for the day, your specimen might not be sent out until the next day,” Turner said.
In more populated areas like the Treasure Valley, analyzing tests in-house has reduced turnaround times for larger hospitals — as long as they can keep up with demand.
Dr. A. Patrice Burgess, executive medical director for system clinical integration and health informatics for the Saint Alphonsus Health System, said the hospital system has in-house testing platforms that can deliver results within one to four hours. The hospital system also uses local and national labs, which can return results within days.
But again, demand can sometimes derail these return times. And there is still plenty of demand.
In mid-July, Saint Al’s had a “significant surge” in testing demand that overwhelmed local and national labs. This was roughly the time the Bosches found themselves waiting.
“During that time, we were seeing delays as long as 14 days for results,” Burgess said. “This was similar to experiences occurring around the country.”
Saint Al’s has been testing only people with symptoms in an effort to decrease burdens on labs. As of Friday, the Saint Al’s website tells patients to call a health care provider if feeling ill, and the provider will determine whether a coronavirus test is needed.
Testing capacity improvements
St. Luke’s Health System also conducts some testing in-house, but those are limited to symptomatic patients in the hospital; patients leaving a St. Luke’s facility and going to a long-term care facility; St. Luke’s employees; and people preparing for a surgery or a procedure that involves increased exposure.
Tests taken by St. Luke’s from nonurgent symptomatic people are sent to outside labs, according to Dr. Frank Johnson, St. Luke’s vice president of medical affairs. Johnson said that outside lab turnaround times are roughly three to four days.
“We recognize that timing can be better and is part of the reason why St. Luke’s is working to increase our own internal capacity,” Johnson said.
He added that St. Luke’s is looking to purchase equipment that would increase the hospital system’s internal testing capacity, and he hopes the equipment could arrive this fall.
Local public health officials reported seeing similar issues.
“While we are still seeing some of the labs able to push results out within 24-48 hours, we have seen major delays at many of the labs, and turnaround time is anywhere between six to 10 days,” said Brandon Atkins, program manager for Central District Health, which covers Ada, Boise, Elmore and Valley counties.
Though testing is now more widespread and substantial, Idaho, of course, has substantially more cases. As of Friday night, Idaho had 29,259 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, along with 357 deaths.
State health officials say there have been over 246,000 tests completed statewide since the outbreak began.
Wait times have generally improved as the pandemic has continued, even though there is work to do. Hospitals and clinics have expanded services, and tests are also available at places like Rite Aid and Albertsons.
Turner said that the time between testing date and when a test is finished by a lab was on average around eight days in April. Now, that average is around three days.
“It’s getting better,” Turner said. “It’s not what public health wants, obviously, and we’re hoping that some of the new testing methods that are becoming available will help with getting those results a little bit quicker.”
The Bosches are still in dismay over the delay in receiving their results. Bosch said that a family member who lives in Los Angeles received results back in less than 24 hours — something that can happen in the Treasure Valley but is not consistent.
Stefan Bosch said that if hospitals in a city as large as Los Angeles can return tests that quickly, someone in a city Boise’s size shouldn’t have to wait so long.
“Two weeks is insanity,” Bosch said.
Bosch said he understands the COVID-19 outbreak has put a strain on everyone, especially those in the medical field, but his family’s experience was disheartening. He said the pandemic still isn’t being taken as seriously as it should be by some, pointing to a mailed letter with a negative test result as an example.
“No one is prepared for a pandemic,” he said. “But it just looks like we don’t have our ducks in a row.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
