KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As coronavirus cases surge in Kansas and Missouri, an increase in testing demand is causing slowdowns at commercial labs.
In Kansas City, health department officials said the average turnaround time to receive COVID-19 test results has increased from three to five days to five to nine days.
“We can increase the top of a funnel as much as we want by offering more testing, but if we are not dealing with the bottom of the funnel, the number of labs and the capacity of labs to process those tests, then the funnel is just going to get backed up,” said Frank Thompson, deputy director of the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department.
Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest laboratory companies in the country, has a site in Lenexa and warned that if demand for testing continues to surge in the fall, the company will not be in a position to reduce turnaround times.
“We are limited in how quickly we can add capacity," a company spokesperson said in an email to 41 Action News. "For instance, global supply constraints continue to be an issue. While our suppliers of test platforms and reagents continue to be responsive to our need to add capacity, they are limited amid surging demand in the United States and globally.
"To address these challenges, we are seeking to add new technology platforms, among other options. We are also considering additional partners for our lab-referral program, through which we forward specimens we receive to other laboratories with open capacity. Yet, we want patients and health care providers to know that we will not be in a position to reduce our turnaround times as long as cases of COVID-19 continue to increase dramatically across much of the United States. This is not just a Quest issue. The surge in COVID-19 cases affects the laboratory industry as a whole."
The key to preventing delayed result turnarounds is getting community spread under control, according to Thompson.
“Unless as a community we are able to bend the curve, really get folks to wear their masks and maintain social distancing and eliminate unnecessary gatherings and socializing, and really get the community spread under control, yes, we will continue to see increases into the fall,” he said.
