The biggest medical app – Practo on March 29, said that now booking for COVID-19 test can be availed online on its platform.
The company has collaborated with Thyrocare to conduct the detection tests, which has been approved by the government of India and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
“Starting today, the test is available for Mumbai residents, and will soon be expanded to the rest of the nation. A valid doctor’s prescription, duly filled Test Requisition Form signed by the physician, and a photo ID card has to be presented at the time of testing,” it informed in a blogpost.
The cost of the test will be Rs. 4,500 and can be booked online at https://www.practo.com/covid-test and https://covid.thyrocare.com/, the app informed.
“Certified phlebotomists from I2H will collect the samples from the patients’ homes directly”, Practo said.
“They will be taking all important precautions mentioned in the ICMR guidelines while taking the swabs. The Swab that is taken at the time of the test will be collected in a viral transport medium (VTM) and will be transported in a cold chain to the Thyrocare laboratory which has been selected for COVID-19 testing. The report will be made available to the patients on the Practo website within 24-48 hours of the sample collection,” the app further informed.
Dr. Alexander Kuruvilla, Chief Health Strategy Officer, Practo, said, “Widespread testing is critical to track the scale and avoid the transmission of COVID-19. To make sure that anyone who experiences the symptoms of the infection can get tested, the government is continuously working on widening the list of labs and centers. We’ve collaborated with Thyrocare to make sure that access to these tests is not a problem. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to identify more such localities where Practo can solve for accessibility – be it for doctor consultations, testing or medicine delivery. We stand firmly committed to our vision of making quality healthcare accessible to all Indians, esp. in difficult times such as these.”