HealthCARE Express Offers Molecular Flu Testing!
With the scare of the Coronavirus sweeping the nation, many people have forgotten about a more threatening virus for our country: influenza. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 8,200 people have died from the flu this season and over 140,000 have been hospitalized. An even more frightening estimation of 15 million people have been diagnosed with the flu so far in this 2019-2020 season. Most of the southern states have even been reported as having high flu activity within the past week alone.
Even though those numbers are frightening, you don’t have to go to the ER when you start showing flu or flu-like symptoms. Did you know that the flu test you are most likely to get at the ER is normally only 50-70% accurate? The most common flu test given at many urgent care centers and doctor’s offices is the rapid influenza detection test (RID). While the results come back quickly, they often yield many false positives and false negatives. On top of that, the test is just downright uncomfortable. To administer the test, the healthcare provider must swab deep into the patient’s nasal cavity, and even then, the results of the test are likely to be incorrect with either a false positive or false negative.
Instead of the RID test, HealthCARE Express now offers molecular flu testing! Molecular flu tests are between 90-98% accurate with a low likelihood of false-positive and false-negative results. The molecular flu test offered at HealthCARE Express can also determine which type of flu a patient is suffering from so the best course of treatment can be provided. These more accurate results are achieved through the testing methods used in molecular diagnosis. These tests can detect the presence of the nucleic acids of the influenza virus if they are present in the patient’s upper respiratory system. This test also doesn’t require a deep swab of the nasal cavity. The providers at HealthCARE Express will only have to swab inside of a patient’s nose to get results. Patients can even expect a similar turn-around time for results as they would with the RID test.
With this exam available at HealthCARE Express, you can get a much more accurate diagnosis at just a fraction of the cost of an ER visit.
If you are suffering from flu-like symptoms, visit your nearest HealthCARE Express today, no appointment is necessary!
