Due to COVID-19, this year has been filled with new experiences and challenges for all of us. With everything going on we have been forced out of our comfort zones in ways we never expected. The personal growth and strength we have all gained, because of these experiences, has been quite incredible to observe with regard to my personal life, our Merrimack Smiles team and our patients. So many of our patients continue to persevere in spite of many difficulties occurring in their lives. The Merrimack Smiles team and I are always trying to find new and innovative ways we can help those around us, so when I saw the opportunity to become a COVID-19 test site we catapulted into action.
Many of you expressed your concern with locating a testing site and the unpredictable length of time to receive your results. As a healthcare provider, I felt a responsibility to act and provide a solution for these concerns in whatever way I could to help alleviate the burden and stress of not having reliable access to a rapid and accurate COVID-19 test. After significant research, phone calls, paperwork and procedural know-how, Merrimack Smiles is proud to have been approved as a certified laboratory that can perform Rapid COVID-19 tests, exclusive to our community of patients. As a certified laboratory, we can provide an additional service, beyond dental care, because we felt it was important to help our patients and our community stay health and safe.
What you need to know:
- We can only perform a COVID-19 test with a laboratory order from your Medical Doctor. Operating as a laboratory, Merrimack Smiles is only able to collect the specimen, analyze the specimen and report results to the patient, referring physician and, the New Hampshire Department of Public Health.
- We will send a claim to your Medical insurance company for this service on your behalf and will need your medical insurance card to do so. While the CARES Act is in effect, it is our understanding that your medical insurance will cover the cost and there is no patient responsibility for COVID-19 testing. If this changes and your medical insurance does not contribute to the service then you will be responsible for fee.
- Tests require a reserved time and will be conducted from the comfort of your vehicle in our office parking lot. A member of our team will meet you at your car and take a sample from the lower inside part of both your nostrils. The test allows us to provide same-day results!!
- Our COVID-19 testing is exclusive to our Merrimack Smiles patients, which means that you will not have to compete for testing with the community at large.
- COVID-19 testing is independent from our dental services and does not require you to have a dental visit.
After researching tests available to us, we decided on a real time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) molecular diagnostic test, which has a high accuracy rate in reporting an active Coronavirus infection in real time. It was important for me to find a reliable test backed by research and designed to ensure that the results I was reporting were of the highest confidence level possible (high specificity and sensitivity). This fact sheet for patients provides more detail about the specific test we have.
We are reserving times for rapid COVID-19 tests now and will continue to do our best to meet the needs of our patients. If you need an appointment please call our office so our Business Team can schedule one for you.
Thank you for your continued confidence in us!
Sincerely,
Mark S. Morris, D.D.S.
and the team from Merrimack Smiles
P.S. –Did you know there are three types of COVID-19 tests you can learn more about each here.