Nurx and the COVID-19 Pandemic
One of the greatest challenges we face in addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency is how to seamlessly and safely connect people with testing, education, and care while simultaneously slowing the spread of the virus and managing the burden on our healthcare system.
Nurx and its longstanding home testing lab partner are actively developing a telehealth consultation and home testing service for people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Our goal is to help people protect themselves and their local communities by determining whether they are infected and, if so, whether they need to seek in-person care or if their infection can be managed at home. Allowing people to take a COVID-19 test remotely can be a valuable strategy for containing the virus because it decreases the risk of exposure for both patients and in-person healthcare providers, while also decreasing the strain on brick-and-mortar healthcare services.
At Nurx, we are focused on achieving public health outcomes that aren’t possible through the traditional doctor’s office model. In addition to having provided remote care to nearly half a million patients across the country, we offer innovative home testing for HIV, HPV, and other sexually transmitted infections. We allow our patients to consult with a medical provider, complete lab work, get their results, and receive treatment – without ever needing to step into a physical clinic or lab center. Given this clinical and operational expertise, we are able to extend the support of our care model during this evolving crisis.
Our longstanding home testing partner Molecular Testing Labs (Molecular) is a CAP Accredited and CLIA Licensed laboratory with extensive experience in infectious diseases and home testing validation. Molecular is working to validate and introduce a COVID-19 home test for those patients who may have been exposed to the virus.
Our senior medical advisor Dr. Christopher Hall brings over 30 years of experience in the public health dimensions of HIV/AIDS, STIs, and infectious diseases and is a board-certified infectious diseases specialist. Dr. Hall is working closely with Molecular and Nurx’s medical team to determine how we can safely and appropriately leverage our telemedicine platform and home testing infrastructure to address this pandemic.
We will focus our testing efforts on people who have had direct exposure to COVID-19 and/or those who are experiencing symptoms. For those who we believe are at high-risk, we will be recommending in-person testing and care. Our ability to provide testing will be dynamic and responsive to leading clinical public health guidelines. Because testing capacity will be limited, we will not be able to offer home tests or online consultations to people who do not have specific symptoms or risk factors.
If you’re interested in learning more, share your contact information with us here and we’ll reach out once we have more information on when we’re able to provide COVID-19 consultations and home testing in the near future.
We believe that digital health solutions like Nurx are uniquely positioned to play an important role in alleviating the stress and burden on the U.S. healthcare system, ensuring our fellow clinical providers can remain healthy and focused on those who genuinely require in-person care.
Now is the time to be nimble and think creatively, all the while upholding patient safety and quality of care.
We look forward to sharing more in the near future.
This blog provides information about telemedicine, health and related subjects. The blog content and any linked materials herein are not intended to be, and should not be construed as a substitute for, medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis or treatment. Any reader or person with a medical concern should consult with an appropriately-licensed physician or other healthcare provider. This blog is provided purely for informational purposes. The views expressed herein are not sponsored by and do not represent the opinions of Nurx™.
