The annual and predictable flu season period happens during the winter season. Before the pandemic, the health industry has created a system that would allow laboratories and clinicians to work seamlessly throughout this period with the right amount of vaccines and health workers. Although the health sector has always been prepared for the annual flu season, the SARS-CoV-2 virus makes things more challenging.
So, the big question is: how is the flu season going to be like this year? Since the number of cases continues to rise, the health sector is likely to face an overwhelming number of patients in hospitals and higher demand for testing supplies.
What do we do about this? Knowing how COVID-19 spreads is already a big help. We know COVID-19 spreads in enclosed spaces and unprotected person-to-person contact, regardless of the weather conditions and temperature. But by wearing masks, social distancing, and limiting in-person gatherings, you can help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
However, the solutions mentioned are direct solutions for ourselves, but what else can we do for the labs and laboratory workers this season? Although labs have responded rapidly by developing more test kits and dealing with staff and supply issues, are we forgetting other important factors that could help them?
In this article, we’ll be discussing different things we could do to help our laboratories during this uncertain flu season. Let’s begin!
1. Establish algorithms for testing and develop a systematic workflow
Testing patients for the virus isn’t challenging; what’s tricky is getting the test results, especially if you’re dealing with a potentially positive case.
With the help of algorithms, workers in the health industry have expectations for what type of tests are needed for different scenarios. For symptomatic patients, they should have both SAR-CoV-2 and influenza tests ordered together. However, for asymptomatic patients, they may only require SARS-CoV-2 tests.
With an algorithm and a systematic workflow on testing, laboratories won’t get hit hard by increasing demand for testing kits, and testing won’t be affected.
2. Communicate to clinical staff regarding your tests
Miscommunications and unrealistic expectations still surround testing performance and turnaround time in laboratories, even months into the pandemic. Because of that, lab leaders must educate clinicians and administrators on test platforms, capacity, and test performance.
This way, expectations will be managed, and there would be a decrease of miscommunication, especially with regards to testing performance. Additionally, communication with staff will provide accurate test statistics for test “dashboards.”
3. Keep the lab staff accessible through phone calls
One of the most critical jobs of being in a lab is providing information and updates immediately when results are available. However, when health facilities are too busy, the workload may be overwhelming, and sending out results could be delayed. To help with this, a phone call regarding a patient’s status can be convenient and helpful.
However, if labs are getting an overwhelming amount of calls, facilities can incorporate a “reminder” system to inform lab workers to contact patients with available results. But if patients call for their results, it’s better to give them a window of when they can expect a call regarding their results.
Conclusion
Although we are months into the pandemic, we’re all still quite unsure about what’s to come in the next few months, especially with flu season coming up.
Even if we can only expect the challenges of testing during flu season, there is nothing much we could do but continue to practice proper health protocols and labs to prepare themselves for testing kit demands. The best way to get through this pandemic is to continually support our health workers and the health industry to keep moving forward.
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