Stanford Health Care’s same-day primary care program is offering drive-through testing, by appointment, for SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The service is being provided to patients who are referred for testing by a health care provider based on their symptoms and exposure, said Maja Artandi, MD, medical director of the Express Care clinics.

For maximum safety, patients remain in their cars for the tests, which are administered by a physician, advanced practice provider or nurse outfitted in protective clothing, including a gown, goggles, mask and gloves. Each appointment takes only a few minutes.

The Food and Drug Administration-approved test being used was developed by Stanford Medicine researchers to detect the respiratory virus. It involves swabbing the inside of the nose for a sample, Artandi said. Patients with drive-through appointments also are being tested for more routine respiratory pathogens that cause influenza or related diseases.

Notified within 24 hours

Patients will be notified of their COVID-19 test results within 24 hours, Artandi said. If the result is positive, their physicians will ensure they receive appropriate care, which can range from hospitalization for people showing severe symptoms to telemedicine visits and self-quarantine for those with mild cases. “Fortunately, most of the infections are really benign,” Artandi said.

Artandi and her Stanford Medicine colleagues decided to offer the drive-through testing service as a way to accommodate more patients in a safe and efficient manner. Exam rooms must be cleaned after every in-person visit from a patient who may have COVID-19, while drive-through testing avoids such potential contamination. Studies from Stanford Medicine have found that a drive-through medical clinic model is an effective strategy for responding to a potential pandemic or emerging infectious disease event.

“It’s really a much faster and safer solution,” said Artandi, clinical associate professor of primary care and population health. “The patient is not going to expose anybody else. The clinic is not going to be exposed.”