Situation Report | October 5, 2020
The September 28 Situation Report mentioned a new rapid antigen test (Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card) being made available to health care providers, including home care and hospice agencies that meet certain criteria.
Last week, HCA sent a notice to our Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) and hospice members about the availability of this test and the necessity to complete and return a template to the National Association of Home Care and Hospice (NAHC). While a completed template (see downloadable Excel file here) is necessary if agencies want to be considered for distribution, HCA advises members that submission is no guarantee that they will receive a supply of tests.
Distribution is being given to those with a CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) waiver who are located in high-COVID-prevalence areas, and selection will also depend on the agency size and the amounts made available by the federal government.
The federal government will be distributing the tests to NAHC who will then send them to “qualified” home health and hospice providers.
If you have not already completed the template, HCA reminds agencies that it is sent to COVID-19Test@nahc.org. HCA also advises agencies to complete the entire template, including the gray and blue columns, which include requests for agency name, type and number of cases and more (on left side of the template).
To learn more about this rapid test called BinaxNOW, please see the manufacturer’s training videos, modules, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) that can be accessed here.