Rapid COVID testing connects small pharmacies and communities

PORT HENRY | When Mountain Lake Services had a suspected Covid outbreak, it turned not to a major health institution for testing, but to a small neighborhood pharmacy on Main Street that had something many of the bigger institutions did not: rapid testing. "We have the result in 15 minutes; most people just wait in their car," said Jim Bowen, president of Adirondack Apothecary, which along with Moriah Pharmacy has community retail pharmacies in Schroon Lake and Willsboro, as well as offering Long-Term-Care pharmacy services to the North Country. That's an important point, as Essex County officials have worried that wait times on testing results have begun to creep back up again — in the early days of the pandemic labs were taking 10 days to two weeks to return results — which makes it harder for health-care workers to rein in potential outbreaks. "You can isolate it so much faster with a rapid test," Bowen said, noting that the Mountain Lake Services cluster was controlled faster than it otherwise might have been. "Waiting four or five days doesn't cut it", especially when so many infected are asymptomatic. Since it began offering rapid tests three weeks ago, the Moriah Pharmacy has administered 375 tests, even though many people are still unaware that there are community pharmacies that have the capability. Of Adirondack Apothecary's three pharmacies, only Moriah offers rapid testing, but Bowen said people have come from up to an hour away to get a fast result. It's a popular service for travelers who can have their quarantine times significantly reduced with fast testing. Instructions and registration for receiving a rapid test at the Moriah Pharmacy can be found at adk.timetap.com. The cost is $120. It's covered by Medicaid and Medicare, and private insurers generally cover it but — since this is a new concept to them too — Bowen says if not initially paid, then a patient can submit a manual claim after for possible re-payment. And when the Covid vaccine arrives, Bowen said all three pharmacies will be able to administer it as well. That will be an important link in vaccinating small communities within our region. As has been seen playing out on a national scale, manufacture of the vaccine once developed is the easy part; getting the vaccine into the arms of so many patients has been far more problematic. "In a lot of cases community pharmacies are filling a very important void," said Jack Mozloom, vice president of public relations for the National Community Pharmacists Association. Pharmacies are one more area where, as has been the case with everything from local agriculture to neighborhood sawmills — that the pandemic has prompted people to seek connections with local services and producers. Along with being more agile that some of the larger institutions, Mozloom said community pharmacies will be important because of accessibility and personal relationships they have with their customers. "A lot of Americans may be reluctant to take the vaccine, so they will look to people they trust, like their pharmacist," he said. "The local pharmacists are part of the community. They donate to the Little League, they sit on the school board — in every way they are neighbors." Bowen said he's seen these relationships strengthen between his pharmacies and their neighbors during uncertain times, which he believes will have lasting benefits for both. "We're pretty proud of what we're doing and can offer," he said.

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Rapid COVID testing connects small pharmacies and communities

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