Drive-through tests hit triple bump: Protocols, prescriptions and forms

Ipsita Pati | TNN | Updated: Apr 16, 2020, 11:34 IST

GURUGRAM: On April 11, in what was seen as a major boost to the fight against the novel coronavirus, two private diagnostic labs — SRL and Healthian — started drive-through sample-collection centres for Covid-19 tests, the first of their kind in the city. Both had taken a leaf out of Delhi’s Dr Dangs’ Lab, which was the first private lab to initiate such a facility in the country.
Four days on, the entire exercise seems to have been derailed, owing largely to poor planning. Discouraged by the protocols that are in place for testing and the paperwork involved, most people have stayed away from the two centres.

To make use of the drive-through test, a person has to book a slot online. For this, he or she has to upload some documents, including a detailed form filled by a qualified physician and a doctor’s prescription for a Covid test. The person, therefore, needs to first visit a hospital or a clinic in order to get these.
Amid the lockdown, residents have found it difficult to do so. Many people TOI spoke with said they have been unable to register for a test simply because they do not have a doctor’s prescription as appointments these days are not easy to come by.
Thus, while the drive-through testing centres — makeshift sheds where technicians wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) take samples of patients sitting in the car — are getting hundreds of inquiries on the phone daily, the number of people actually turning up has been negligible.
The two private diagnostic labs, which had got permission from the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) to conduct the drive-through tests, blamed lack of awareness and complication in the pre-screening procedure.
Healthian CEO and founder Deepak Sahni told TOI that they have informed the government about the issue. “We have been getting more than 100 calls every day on our helplines. Getting a doctor’s prescription is tricky under the present circumstances. We have suggested to the government that patients could get a video prescription from doctors to book a test,” Sahni said, adding that the lab validates the doctor and the resident’s ID before registration.
Ajay Pal, a paramedic staff at Healthian, which is located at Tau Devilal Stadium near Rajiv Chowk, said the process of collecting samples was easy. “We received a few patients yesterday and they followed all the instructions,” he said.
The other drive-through testing centre, SRL at Sector 29, was completely deserted on Wednesday. A paramedic staff, Rajesh Kumar, explained that the testing process was simple enough and takes “less than 15 seconds”. However, he added, “The centre received only one suspected patient on Tuesday, and today, we haven’t got anyone coming in for the test.”
Some residents who tried to get themselves tested for Covid-19 said the pre-screening procedure was complicated.
“How can we get a doctor’s prescription under the present scenario? Also, a qualified physician is required to fill the patient’s detail form, which is tedious. None of these things can happen without people visiting a hospital,” said Suraj Wadhwa, a resident of Nirvana Country in Sector 50.
While Healthian has a home sample collection facility, it is only for senior citizens. Here too, copies of the patient’s form and a doctor’s prescription need to be uploaded on the website.
Moreover, these are not the only requirements for the tests. “We also ask for the vehicle number as we issue a booking ID and car pass for the residents to visit the drive-through centre,” Sahni said.
A similar practice is followed by SRL. Both the facilities had earlier said testing would be free for those in the BPL category. There has been no clarity as yet on how that would be achieved, as only those with a vehicle are allowed to be tested at the drive-through centres.
“These centres ask people to fill out details about their personal vehicle. How can this be mandatory for people in the BPL category? Even for home testing we are expected to get doctor’s prescription,” Meenakshi Saha, who lives in Sector 65, said.
In the weeks to come, the launch of a telemedicine service may prove useful to both the drive-through centres and the residents, as doctors would be able to upload prescriptions for Covid-19 tests on a portal.