93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
What does it take to get a COVID-19 test in America?
Dr. Ashley Millham with Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services says it varies, and it changes often, but it is usually up to your doctor.
“There are absolutely guidelines out there…for providers to discern who would benefit from this test,” Dr. Millham said on Wake Up Columbia on Friday. “But it is not a black and white, these are the specific criteria that a patient has to meet.”
Millham says you typically must have increased risk that you were exposed to the new coronavirus, along with symptoms like a fever and a cough.
Columbia has a couple drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites set up, but you need to have a doctor’s note.
it’s kind of silly that a doctor’s note is needed when doctors are turning away patients continuously during this epidemic. however I feel the doctor should be able to call in an order into one of the mobile testing sites or lives so the patients can get appropriately tested.