We Can Solve the Coronavirus-Test Mess Now—if We Want To

As the United States struggles to test all citizens exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus, Australia and Canada are offering lessons about best practices for preparing for a pandemic. Having learned from previous outbreaks, these countries implemented protocols such as a national hotline, easy-access to information about testing sites, and "an agency to coordinate and help finance testing and treatment during any kind of viral or disease outbreak" – all of which help make testing more efficient.

A group of health professionals known as Latinx Advocacy Team & Interdisciplinary Network for COVID-19, or LATIN-19, is helping to bring coronavirus-specific health care access to North Carolina's Latino community. Because the group operates across county lines, they have become well-known amongst the local communities, helping to not only provide much-needed health care services, but also increase awareness around the dangers of the virus.

As countries respond in different ways to the COVID19 pandemic, those with systematic government approaches have proven to be strongest thus far. Places like Hong Kong and Singapore created immediate systems for testing and quarantining, putting quick pressure on stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus. On the opposite end, places like Iran and the United States have fared worse because of a lack of immediate response and capacity for testing.

Missing a doctor's appointment has a significant cost. Hospitals lose money and doctors lose time that they could be using to attend to other patients. Dr. Alex King believes that through testing and then implementing certain behavioral nudges, hospitals will stop losing as much money and patients will benefit from a better experience.

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, public health officials in Flint, Michigan began tracking the demographics of those who were testing positive for the virus in order to better align the county's public health action and outreach. In doing so, officials realized that a lack of access to testing in predominately Black neighborhoods was a contributing factor and decided to launch mobile testing, barrier-free sites, and other interventions at the state level.

Australia's health care system combines public and private health insurance to create a hybrid model that caters to every citizen. Although there is some uncertainty surrounding the future of the private health care program due to the younger generation's tendency to choose the public option, overall, "the outcomes for both systems have been quite good," especially when compared to America's system.

Although offering at-home care has been a practice for some time, the coronavirus pandemic has helped prompt more health insurance companies to allow health care workers to implement the practice at a larger scale. Treating patients in their homes doesn't just reduce the caseload for doctors in hospitals but also has been shown to have positive effects on the patient's overall health and well-being. Since the change in health insurance police, "interest in the programs has skyrocketed."

Germany has implemented a variety of methods to contain the coronavirus, but their policy of "open public testing" has been a vital component of successfully slowing the spread of the virus. Although the policy was not in place from the start due to insurance limitations, once enacted, it allowed for asymptomatic people to be tested and has reportedly slowed outbreaks throughout the country.

Philadelphia's local government and health care providers are working to improve access to health care and coronavirus testing in minority and low-income neighborhoods. While a testing center is the newest addition to their efforts, local health care centers have been and will remain a crucial resource for residents to access telehealth services and information.

To better address the necessary adaptions made to the health care system during the coronavirus pandemic, such as utilizing telemedince to abide by social distancing regulations, health insurance companies in North Carolina have altered their billing rules and increased reimbursement rates for virtual appointments. Realizing that telemedicine isn't ideal for all patients due to connectivity inequities, medical centers are also trying to offer WiFi hotspots and outdoor visits in parking lots.