Charlotte-based MedCall Advisors is working with diagnostics company MicroGenDX to provide Covid-19 testing to colleges and businesses.
MedCall, launched in 2018 by Randy Baker, is a tele-health service that uses technology to immediately connect someone experiencing a medical emergency to a board certified physician.
Baker said MedCall and MicroGen are collaborating on Covid testing for learning institutions and employers who are trying to determine how to safely bring students and employees back to work and school.
Locally, Davidson College has had 1,800 of the company's test kits mailed to students and faculty ahead of the fall semester, which starts on Thursday.
Baker said MedCall created a “Return to Campus” plan, which was approved by the college’s administration. In order to return to campus, a student or faculty member must complete the Covid test, send it back and receive negative results.
“We send the test out and track those result, then send the list to the college,” he said. “And it’s not a one-and-done test. It will be ongoing testing for the campus population.”
Baker said the MicroGen test is a better, more accurate option because it’s based on a person’s DNA. Instead of a nasal swab, the test requires a person to cough then spit into a sterile container. Results are available within 48 hours.
According to a Brigham and Women's Hospital study published last month, sputum was determined to be more accurate in detecting Covid than nose or throat swabs.
“We’re able to control having the entire population take the same test… Consistency is critical in testing,” he said. “The key, for us, is our partnership with MicroGen, which is very reliable as far as quality of testing and turnaround time.”
