Very soon Indiana residents will be able to obtain a COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit, Kroger Health has announced.

The usage and distribution of the home test kits was approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Kroger Health says that the kits will be made available to front-line associates across Kroger’s Family of Companies.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the safety of our associates and our customers has remained our top priority,” said Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health. “Kroger Heath remains committed to helping people live healthier lives through our multi-disciplinary team of licensed, trained and experienced healthcare providers.”

Kroger Health also provided detailed instructions on how to obtain and use the test kits:

• The home collection is performed under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional. The process is simple and is available at no cost to eligible patients who meet established clinical criteria for likely COVID-19 infection or exposure.
• Patients will be provided access to a website where they will answer screening questions, enter in their organization’s benefit code and an individual code, like an employee ID, and complete a clinical assessment. If a patient qualifies, a healthcare professional will issue a prescription and the home collection kit is shipped to their home within 24-48 hours.
• The home collection kit includes a nasal swab, transport vial, instruction sheet, prepaid shipping label, and packing materials for return shipment of the sample to the laboratory.
• Upon receipt of the home collection kit, a healthcare professional guides the home collection process via telehealth – a two-way video chat. Direct observation helps to ensure the proper technique is used for sample collection.
• The patient will then overnight ship their sample to the laboratory for processing, which on average will take 24-48 hours.
• At the laboratory, the collection undergoes a molecular diagnostic test – a test which detects parts of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and can be used to diagnose active infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• If test results are negative for an active infection, results are released to the patient’s electronic medical record portal. Alternatively, patients may be called if they do not consent to use of the portal. For a patient whose test result is positive, a healthcare professional will contact them via phone to provide a recommended course of care.
• Test results will be accessible only to the patient and only shared with their organization if the patient authorizes the release of his or her results. All results are reported to government health agencies as required by law.