How TestDirectly Helped DuPage County Create a More Efficient Drive-Through With Faster Test Results

Editor’s Note: This TestDirectly case study was originally published on October 9, 2020. 

Executive Summary 

What follows is a case study featuring the DuPage County Health Department and its Wheaton-based COVID-19 collection center.

DuPage County, Illinois’ second-most populous county, was experiencing serious COVID-19 testing and reporting bottlenecks caused by manual processes and error-prone handwritten documentation at collection sites.

To overcome these limitations, the county health department partnered with LigoLab to deploy the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal.

TestDirectly digitized the entire front-end clinical lab workflow by enabling online patient pre-registration, implementing unique barcoding to link specimens with patient data, and delivering results (consumer lab reports) rapidly and securely to patients, physicians, and public health officials. The platform also enabled real-time prevalence data collection to support more effective tracking and tracing of positive cases.

This digital transformation significantly reduced turnaround times and enabled collection centers to reassign nearly half of their data-entry staff, expanding testing capacity and improving overall efficiency.

From Bottlenecks to Breakthroughs: How TestDirectly Transformed COVID-19 Testing in Illinois

In April 2020, a prominent Illinois laboratory began working with LigoLab to quickly configure the LigoLab Informatics Platform for COVID-19 testing with its molecular lab software module. From there, it didn’t take long for the lab to establish itself as a statewide leader in reliable and accurate molecular LIS (laboratory information system) testing. 

Discover More: Molecular Labs Hold the Key to Evidence-Based Precision Medicine

Between April and July 2020, the lab processed and delivered over 400,000 COVID-19 test results, partnering with multiple Illinois drive-through sites and employers nationwide. In most cases, patients received their results within 48 hours.

For this case study, we’ve focused on the enterprise lab and one of those drive-through locations supervised by the DuPage County Health Department. 

How DuPage County Health Department Digitized COVID-19 Testing to Serve More Patients

When the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) integrated the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal into its Wheaton drive-through COVID-19 collection site on July 16, it had two primary goals: to increase patient access and testing capacity while maintaining fast, reliable delivery of test results through digitally accessible consumer lab reports.

For nearly a month before implementing TestDirectly, DCHD depended on a manual collection process that relied heavily on handwritten forms and labor-intensive data entry. This outdated clinical lab workflow created bottlenecks at the lab and slowed patient intake at the collection site. 

The process was hampered by communication barriers as staff and patients struggled to exchange information through masks and closed car windows. This led to frequent errors and limited the number of specimens collected daily.

Discover More: Remembering COVID - A Medical Lab’s Journey to One Million COVID-19 Tests

‍The Immediate Impact of TestDirectly at the DCHD Drive-Through

Shortly after implementing TestDirectly, the delays at both the collection site and the laboratory began to disappear. Handwritten forms were replaced with streamlined digital lab workflow management powered by advanced molecular lab software, enabling both teams to increase capacity and deliver faster turnaround times. An added benefit: patients experienced significantly shorter wait times at the collection site.

“With TestDirectly, we were able to test and serve many more people daily and, most importantly, get people their results quickly and easily,” said Christopher Hoff, Director of Community Health Resources for DuPage County. 

First, TestDirectly removed the issues with handwritten paper forms and contactless communication. Second, the digital lab workflow made follow-up much easier because patients could now log in to the direct-to-consumer lab testing portal to get their results, generally a day after their samples were collected.

The lab workflow created by TestDirectly also eliminated 50 percent of the previous on-site data entry team, which allowed DCHD to expand the number of staff members collecting specimens. This led to an increase in the number of samples collected each day. Those involved with quality control were repurposed to help in other areas, and an additional drive-through lane was opened.

With TestDirectly (and TestDirectly.com), DCHD scaled the number of samples collected to a daily capacity of 600. The process started with patients pre-registering on a mobile device. After that, they were checked in with a unique barcode that, when entered, automatically printed specimen labels with their patient demographics. This matched specimens to patient orders, ensuring the chain of custody and integrity. From there, patients performed a self-administered nasal swab test after receiving instructions from staff members. 

The collected samples were packaged and routed to the laboratory, where, after a simple barcode scan, the specimens were checked in (with the help of LigoLab’s lab sample tracking software module) and sent to processing with no delays. 

The Many Benefits of TestDirectly Results Time

“By switching to an electronic lab workflow, we were able to get results out quicker and put that information into the hands of the patients quicker than before,” said the lab’s IT Manager. 

On average, TestDirectly specimens were processed within four to six hours.

As soon as the results were finalized and verified from the testing instrument, consumer lab reports were created and immediately delivered from the lab’s LIS system to the TestDirectly direct-to-consumer lab testing portal. 

From there, patients, physicians, facility administrators, and public health officials were notified in real time about the results being ready for viewing in the portal (via a TestDirectly/facility login). The portal provided real-time prevalence data, allowing public health officials to (rapidly) track and trace cases following positive COVID-19 results.

“After the success at our DuPage County drive-through location, we went live with the largest drive-through location in Bloomington, Illinois,” said the lab’s CEO. “Additionally, we deployed this testing model into over 150 long-term care facilities.” 

Say Goodbye to Testing Bottlenecks With TestDirectly

TestDirectly is the newest addition to the LigoLab Platform: a flexible, comprehensive, all-in-one laboratory information system (LIS software) with built-in laboratory billing/lab revenue cycle management (lab RCM) functionality, designed to modernize, unify, and empower labs to operate as efficient, digital-first businesses.

Get Insight: Six Reasons Why You Should Choose an Integrated Laboratory Billing Solution for Your Medical Lab

The TestDirectly portal integrates seamlessly with your lab’s LIS system, enabling testing organizations to become direct-to-consumer labs by deploying a digital molecular lab software solution that eliminates workflow bottlenecks, reduces errors, and increases efficiency and capacity. 

Scale Faster With TestDirectly

With TestDirectly, laboratories can rapidly scale collection, testing, and reporting to deliver fast, accurate results. Contact a LigoLab product specialist to request a brief introductory call.

Act Now: Contact a LigoLab Product Specialist!‍‍