“To Give A 100% Accurate Count I Couldn’t”, Hospitals & Commerical Labs Are Not Required To Report Negative Test Results
With each passing day, the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) updates the COVID-19 data and map. And, with each passing day residents of Clinton County ask, “how many people in Clinton County have been tested?”
Clinton County Today (CCT) echos the same question and turned to the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) to get answers. CCT spoke with Clinton County Public Health Nurse Dana Longenecker of CCHD on Friday, March 27, 2020. The conversation took place after directing a written question asking, “[CCT is] inquiring if the Clinton County Health Department could provide the total number of residents of Clinton County that have been tested for COVID-19.”
“I saw your question and it is valid question,” said Nurse Longenecker. “To explain why that’s complicated, because the commercial testing, like done at IU Health, they do not have to report numbers to me.”
Only COVID-19 tests resulting in a positive result are reported by commercial labs.
“Unfortunately, the only time they have to report to me is when it is a positive,” said Nurse Longenecker.
“So there could be 300 tests and I don’t know about that unless it is a positive. So it does get complicated.”
“To give a 100% accurate count I couldn’t. Through the state, I would say roughly now 30 to 40 in our county [have been tested] through the state.”
Nurse Longenecker is working with both IU Health Frankfort and St. Elizabeth to develop methods allowing for CCHD to have better knowledge of the tests being completed at the respective hospitals.
“Some entities are working with me to try and keep me up to date as best as they can so we can stay in communication with my community as best as I can.”
“St. Elizabeth has been working with me, giving me some encrypted information and trying to keep me up to date with my Clinton County residents. With them, I can see some of their testing if they go through the state or a different route, but if they use a commercial lab I don’t see those numbers either.”
“But again, I want to reiterate, of course I know about any positive. So it doesn’t matter if it is a Clinton County resident that gets tested, the person gets tested in Ohio, it has to get reported to me and the state.”
CCT asked Nurse Longenecker for clarification in regard to ISDH’s daily update; so, the daily update put out by ISDH only reflects those tested by ISDH and positive cases reflect both state and private testing?
“100 percent,” said Nurse Longenecker. “That is what the state has tested, what you are seeing on those reports. Now if there is a positive through a commercially available test, like ours was done through a commercially available test that was a positive – obviously, that has been reported on that map. So if it is positive they will account for that, but otherwise, you are correct.”
“Forty-thousand patients in Indiana could have been tested by now, those numbers are not going to be reflected, unfortunately.”
