In today’s healthcare landscape, it’s rare that organizations are presented with a no-brainer (or, as close to that concept as is realistically possible). UConn Health, however, has come awfully close with an initiative to dramatically expand Covid-19 testing throughout the state. Along with several other Connecticut-based providers, UConn Health is working with Jackson Laboratory to facilitate the process. But rather than simply participate, the organization is acting as a hub for the 20,000 or so tests that come through each day, capitalizing on its exclusive interface with Jackson Labs.
Of course, it wasn’t going to be easy; there were legal and compliance issues that needed to be addressed, as well as the added volume placed on the EHR, said Chuck Podesta in a recent interview. Fortunately, those proved surmountable, thanks largely to UConn’s partnership with Epic, and the overwhelming desire of all parties involved to help make an impact.
Part 1

* Connecticut’s plan to “test everybody”
* Interface engine with Jackson Laboratories
* UConn Health’s Epic as a “hub”
* “If you’re doing testing and collecting, it has to go through us.”
* 20K tests per day, starting with first responders
* Avoiding multiple MyChart accounts – “It didn’t make sense.”
* Working w/ other EHR vendors (DocuTAP, Meditech)
* “It’s very powerful and it’s very simple.”
* Incremental expansion plans – “It will open up to others over the summer.”

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Bold Statements
For everybody else who uses them, it’s a manual process. They send the requisition, and they get the tests back. We probably use them more than anyone in the state — that’s why we automated.
We started talking to Epic and they were intrigued by it. They thought it was a cool model that could potentially be used in other parts of the country.
The last thing we want to do is set up a MyChart account for someone who already has one, because then they’d have accounts with UConn and Hartford. I know there are ways within Epic that you can look both of those, but it didn’t make sense.
If a test is being sent to Jackson Labs for someone in the state of Connecticut, it’s coming through UConn Health in some way, shape, or form.
Gamble:  Have you been working remotely, in Connecticut?
Podesta:  For the most part, yes. I’ll go to my office maybe one day of week and walk around. We still have some people onsite — including desktop engineers — and I like to say hello to them. And we’re masked up; you get your temperature taken on the way in. We’re doing thermal imaging now. It’s like Fort Knox just to walk in the door; just to get in the office.
 
Gamble:  I know you have a lot going on, but I’d really like to talk about what you guys are doing with Covid-19 testing.
Podesta:  It’s very cool. The genesis of it was that we use Quest and LabCorp for regular testing, like many organizations, but we also have a private company called Jackson Laboratories, which is based in Maine. They have employees in Maine, California, and Connecticut. We have a close relationship with them; they’re actually on our campus. And so we have an orders and results interface to them, just as you would to Quest or LabCorp.
Our orders come through Epic and the results go back into Epic for testing; what we didn’t realize at the time was that we were the only ones that had that interface with Jackson Labs. For everybody else who uses them, it’s a manual process. They send the requisition, and they get the tests back.