Prisma Health offers limited drive-through COVID-19 testing
Prisma Health is offering limited drive-through COVID-19 testing beginning Monday, March 16. Testing is only for patients with electronic orders from their Prisma Health provider or from a Prisma Health Virtual Visit provider. Paper orders from physicians will not be accepted.
Patients must have a provider order for the COVID-19 test and official personal identification. In Columbia, patients must have an appointment for their test.
- Columbia hours and location:
- Columbia: The site will operate 9 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m., Monday–Friday.
- The Columbia site is outside Prisma Health Richland Hospital North Portal, near the Emergency Department.
- Greenville hours and location:
- Greenville: The site will operate 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Monday–Friday.
- The Greenville site is on the Prisma Health Greenville Memorial Hospital campus, on the lower level of the South Parking Deck.
- Currently, Prisma Health is not able to provide testing to community members without a physician order. Plans are underway to expand testing for more people at additional sites, which will be announced as soon as possible.
Upon arrival at the drive-through location, patients will remain in their car as a sample is collected. The results from samples collected from this location will be sent to the provider or the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC). Care providers will provide results to the patient.
Because of likely backlog of testing at labs, patients may not receive their results for four to seven days. Patients will be contacted as soon as their result is available.
Because that healthcare provider suspects that the patient may have COVID-19, we ask that patients self-isolate at home until they hear the results of their test. This is vital to help protect the community from potential exposure. If the patient’s symptoms worsen, they should contact their physician or Prisma Health Virtual Visit provider.
For current information on home isolation and how to protect your family members from potential exposure, please review this guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This information can also be accessed online at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/guidance-prevent-spread.html.
Prisma Health Virtual Visits, which launched earlier this month, include a new on-demand video option in addition to the existing online visit option. To access the free virtual visits, use promo code COVID19. To learn more about Virtual Visits or create an account, visit PrismaHealth.org/VirtualVisit.
For more information about COVID-19 and Prisma Health’s continued response, visit PrismaHealth.org/Coronavirus.
