For Immediate Release
APHL enables public health reporting of Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 test results via the NAVICA app
Silver Spring, Maryland, March 2, 2021 — The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) today announced the ability to connect Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid antigen test results to public health agencies across the country. The partnership will allow organizations using one of the most widely available COVID-19 tests to more easily report test results to state health agencies.
“We are delighted to provide a solution that enables the public health reporting of this data, which is so important to tackling the pandemic,” said Scott Becker, chief executive officer of APHL. “Collecting timely results will allow public health officials to better track the spread of the virus and determine appropriate responses to protect all Americans and ensure equitable health outcomes.”
Public health reporting came into the spotlight during the pandemic as it allows public health officials and the community to have an accurate picture on the number of COVID-19 cases, and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. All 50 states rely on APHL’s AIMS+ electronic laboratory reporting solution to report much of the nation’s COVID-19 data.
Rapid antigen tests have also become a critical tool in detecting the virus, due to their affordability and ability to conduct reliable testing at mass scale. Abbott’s BinaxNOW test is being used across the U.S. by hundreds of schools and universities, employers, and in community health settings. Yet many organizations, particularly in the education space, do not have an established infrastructure to easily share test result data with state agencies.
Through the partnership, organizations using Abbott’s BinaxNOW rapid antigen test and the NAVICA app system – which allows organizations to test, send results and verify a negative result upon entry to a facility – will now be able to send those encrypted test results to state public health agencies using the AIMS+ service.
“We’ve seen the benefits of BinaxNOW in places like colleges and the workplace, which have historically not done testing and need critical information about the health of the people coming into their facilities,” said Andrea Wainer, executive vice president, rapid and molecular diagnostics, Abbott. “Our partnership with an industry leader like APHL will allow these organizations and communities a more seamless way to share data, contribute to public health, and ultimately help in the fight against the pandemic.”
Organizations using BinaxNOW will need access to Abbott’s latest solution, NAVICA Connect, which allows them to manage their testing programs and see results for their employee or student population. Abbott expects colleges and universities to be the first adopters for NAVICA Connect before expanding out to other educational and employer settings.
Learn more about NAVICA Connect at https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott. Learn more about APHL’s AIMS+ electronic laboratory reporting solution at https://www.aphl.org/programs/informatics/Pages/ELR.aspx.
Contact Michelle Forman at 240.485.2793 or michelle.forman@aphl.org
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The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the U.S. and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. Learn more at www.aphl.org.
The BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Test Card EUA has not been FDA cleared or approved. It has been authorized by the FDA under an emergency use authorization for use by authorized laboratories and patient care settings. The test has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens, and is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostic tests for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.
