Health Advisory for Idaho Healthcare Providers: Guidance for Novel
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Specimen Collection and Testing —
update 3/11/2020
➢ Providers can submit COVID-19 specimens to commercial laboratories for testing. As
of 3/10/2020, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics, and UW Medicine are accepting samples from
Idaho for COVID-19 testing. ARUP Laboratories will start COVID-19 testing on 3/12/2020.
Refer to the commercial laboratory for guidance on specimen collection and submission
procedures. The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System code for COVID-19
laboratory tests is U0002. See the Medicare fact sheet for further detail: https://
www.cms.gov/files/document/03052020-medicare-covid-19-fact-sheet.pdf. Specimens may
be collected and shipped to commercial laboratories without prior public health notification.

➢ COVID-19 testing at the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories (IBL) is available following
notification of public health officials. Contact your public health district (208-xxx-xxxx) or
the Division of Public Health Epidemiology Section (208-334-5939). The public health
system will generate a unique identifier for laboratory use; clinicians do not need this
number. High priority specimens include those from symptomatic people who meet one or
more of the following criteria:

o had close contact with a person with a confirmed COVID-19 infection

o recently traveled to an area with widespread community transmission of COVID-19

o have severe respiratory illness of no known cause

o are health care workers

o are long-term care facility residents with respiratory disease and negative influenza
testing.

➢ For COVID-19 testing at IBL, oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal swabs can be
combined at the time of collection into the same vial. Combining these specimens will
conserve consumables and increase testing capacity. To submit specimens to IBL, complete
the Clinical Test Request Form (https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/Portals/0/Health/Labs/
Clinical_Test_Request_Form.pdf) and include in the specimen shipment. Contact IBL at
208-334-2235 for additional instructions on specimen collection and submission.

➢ A checklist for evaluating persons with respiratory symptoms for COVID-19 is available
here: (insert link) This checklist is an optional tool for clinicians and is not required for
specimen submission at IBL.


Additional resources
• Infection control recommendations: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/infectioncontrol/control-recommendations.html (5. Collection of Diagnostic Respiratory Specimens)

• CDC COVID-19 for healthcare: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/index.html 

• Idaho Official Resources for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): https://coronavirus.idaho.gov


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