open access
The COVID-19 drive-through point — screening and testing — first in Poland complex centre experience
, 34, 3, 5, 4, 2
Affiliations- Center of Medical Simulation, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
- Department of Medical Education, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
- Department of Medical Rescue, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
- Department of Cardiac Surgery and Transplantology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
- Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
open access
Abstract
Introduction: Rapid widespread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020 caused global chaos. In the initial period, a lack of knowledge of epidemiology and viral contamination, as well as no availability of either causal treatment or preventive vaccination, resulted in mass testing of symptomatic individuals as the priority for protection. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the first COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) drive-through testing model in the Greater Poland Region.
Material and methods: The authors demonstrate step-by-step the creation and development of the Centre of Medical Simulation Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PUMS) COVID-19 drive-through testing point for 3.5 million inhabitants in the Greater Poland Region during the 1st through 4th coronavirus pandemic waves. For staff education, low and high-fidelity simulation techniques were used. Additionally, the number of tests performed at the swab point and the efficiency of the developed testing model were evaluated and assessed in all pandemic waves.
Results: PUMS POST (point of screening and testing) activity lasted 24 months. Improvement of staff skills developed through simulation training increased the median number of 91 patients tested each day (with a median of 25 tests per hour) during the 1st wave to a maximum of 260 patients tested each day (135 tests per hour) during the 4th wave when the new drive-through POST system was employed (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The present study supported the previous preliminary reports that drive-through systems developed during the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be efficient and safe for mass population testing. Moreover, the Medical Simulation Centre confirmed the effectiveness of staff skills improvement.
Abstract
Introduction: Rapid widespread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in early 2020 caused global chaos. In the initial period, a lack of knowledge of epidemiology and viral contamination, as well as no availability of either causal treatment or preventive vaccination, resulted in mass testing of symptomatic individuals as the priority for protection. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the first COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) drive-through testing model in the Greater Poland Region.
Material and methods: The authors demonstrate step-by-step the creation and development of the Centre of Medical Simulation Poznan University of Medical Sciences (PUMS) COVID-19 drive-through testing point for 3.5 million inhabitants in the Greater Poland Region during the 1st through 4th coronavirus pandemic waves. For staff education, low and high-fidelity simulation techniques were used. Additionally, the number of tests performed at the swab point and the efficiency of the developed testing model were evaluated and assessed in all pandemic waves.
Results: PUMS POST (point of screening and testing) activity lasted 24 months. Improvement of staff skills developed through simulation training increased the median number of 91 patients tested each day (with a median of 25 tests per hour) during the 1st wave to a maximum of 260 patients tested each day (135 tests per hour) during the 4th wave when the new drive-through POST system was employed (p < 0.001).
Conclusion: The present study supported the previous preliminary reports that drive-through systems developed during the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be efficient and safe for mass population testing. Moreover, the Medical Simulation Centre confirmed the effectiveness of staff skills improvement.
Keywords
coronavirus, COVID-19, drive-through, screening, POST, point of screening and testing
About this articleTitle
The COVID-19 drive-through point — screening and testing — first in Poland complex centre experience
Journal
Issue
Article type
Original article
Pages
11-20
Published online
2023-01-27
Page views
2160
Article views/downloads
329
DOI
Bibliographic record
Medical Research Journal 2023;8(1):11-20.
Keywords
coronavirus
COVID-19
drive-through
screening
POST
point of screening and testing
Authors
Piotr Ziemak
Marek Dąbrowski
Mateusz Puślecki
Agata Dąbrowska
Aleksanda Uruska
Bartłomiej Perek
Ryszard Marciniak
References (28)- Lotfi M, Hamblin MR, Rezaei N. COVID-19: Transmission, prevention, and potential therapeutic opportunities. Clin Chim Acta. 2020; 508: 254–266.
- Listings of WHO's response to COVID-19. (n.d.). World Health Organization. Retrieved September 19, 2020. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-06-2020-covidtimeline (15.12.2022).
- COVID-19 situation update worldwide, as of 17 September 2020. (2020, September 17). European Centre for Disease prevention and control. Retrieved September 19, 2020. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases (15.12.2022).
- Auld SC, Caridi-Scheible M, Blum JM, et al. and the Emory COVID-19 Quality and Clinical Research Collaborative. ICU and Ventilator Mortality Among Critically Ill Adults With Coronavirus Disease 2019. Crit Care Med. 2020; 48(9): e799–e804.
- World Health Organization. (2020). Clinical management of COVID-19: interim guidance. 27 May 2020 (No. WHO/2019-nCoV/clinical/2020.5). World Health Organization Global. https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/clinical-management-of-covid-19 (15.12.2022).
- Evans LK, Shinagawa A, Sutton S, et al. COVID-19 drive-through point of screening and testing (POST) system: a safe, efficient, and adaptable model for nasopharyngeal swab collection. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022; 16(1): 194–200.
- Ton AN, Jethwa T, Waters K, et al. COVID-19 drive through testing: An effective strategy for conserving personal protective equipment. Am J Infect Control. 2020; 48(6): 731–732.
- Choi S, Han C, Lee J, et al. Innovative screening tests for COVID-19 in South Korea. Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2020; 7(2): 73–77.
- Kim E. Drawing on Israel's experience organizing volunteers to operationalize drive-through coronavirus testing centers. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020; 14(6): 812–814.
- Kwon KiT, Ko JH, Shin H, et al. Drive-Through screening center for COVID-19: a safe and efficient screening system against massive community outbreak. J Korean Med Sci. 2020; 35(11): e123.
- Seo WS, Kim SHo, Song SiY, et al. Yeungnam University type drive-through (YU-Thru) coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) screening system: a rapid and safe screening system. Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2020; 37(4): 349–355.
- Alinier G, Morris B, Abu J, et al. Implementation of a drive-through testing clinic in Qatar for residents having recently returned from a country with a COVID-19 travel warning. Qatar Med J. 2020; 2020(3): 42.
- Appa A, Chamie G, Sawyer A, et al. SARS-CoV-2 PCR and antibody testing for an entire rural community: methods and feasibility of high-throughput testing procedures. Arch Public Health. 2021; 79(1): 125.
- Kim JiE, Lee JiHo, Lee H, et al. COVID-19 screening center models in South Korea. J Public Health Policy. 2021; 42(1): 15–26.
- Gradl-Dietsch G, Lübke C, Horst K, et al. Peyton's four-step approach for teaching complex spinal manipulation techniques - a prospective randomized trial. BMC Med Educ. 2016; 16(1): 284.
- Lom B. Classroom activities: simple strategies to incorporate student-centered activities within undergraduate science lectures. J Undergrad Neurosci Educ. 2012; 11(1): A64–A71.
- House JB, Choe CH, Wourman HL, et al. Efficient and effective use of peer teaching for medical student simulation. West J Emerg Med. 2017; 18(1): 137–141.
- Ericsson KA, Harwell KW. Deliberate practice and proposed limits on the effects of practice on the acquisition of expert performance: why the original definition matters and recommendations for future research. Front Psychol. 2019; 10: 2396.
- Weiss EA, Ngo J, Gilbert GH, et al. Drive-through medicine: a novel proposal for rapid evaluation of patients during an influenza pandemic. Ann Emerg Med. 2010; 55(3): 268–273.
- Murray CJL. COVID-19 health service utilization forecasting team. Forecasting the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital demand and deaths for the USA and European Economic Area countries. medRxiv. 2020: 2007473.
- Livingston E, Desai A, Berkwits M. Sourcing personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA. 2020; 323(19): 1912–1914.
- Shanafelt T, Ripp J, Trockel M. Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA. 2020; 323(21): 2133–2134.
- Constantine ST, Callaway D, Driscoll JN, et al. Implementation of drive-through testing for COVID-19 with community paramedics. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022; 16(5): 2076–2082.
- Dippel KS, Kelly EK. Implementation of a nurse practitioner-led drive-through COVID-19 testing site. J Nurse Pract. 2021; 17(2): 185–191.
- Zmora I, Alpert EA, Shacham U, et al. Lessons learned from an analysis of the emergency medical services' COVID-19 drive-through testing facilities in Israel. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2022; 16(5): 2091–2096.
- Lee E, Mohd Esa NY, Wee TM, et al. Bonuses and pitfalls of a paperless drive-through screening and COVID-19: A field report. J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2021; 54(1): 85–88.
- Syed MA, Al Nuaimi AS, A/Qotba HA, et al. Estimating point prevalence of COVID-19 in Qatar's primary care registered population: an RT-PCR drive-through study protocol. BJGP Open. 2021; 5(2).
- Brewer LC, Woods C, Patel A, et al. FAITH! Community Steering Committee COVID-19 Task Force. Establishing a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) drive-through collection site: a community-based participatory research partnership with a federally qualified health center. Am J Public Health. 2021; 111(4): 658–662.