Why is a doctor refusing a referral for a COVID-19 test? [WE EXPLAIN]

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In GP surgeries that have an agreement with the National Health Fund, phone calls do not go silent. With the change in regulations and the recognition of rapid antigen tests as as reliable as PCR tests, everyone wants to be tested for the presence of coronavirus. Patients ask for a referral for a free examination, but not all of them can count on it.

1. A person who has an infection and at the same time had contact with a patient with COVID-19 should receive a referral for a test – says Dr. Katarzyna Śleziak-Barglik
2. Isolation and quarantine cannot be shortened by testing
3. Healthcare physicians: when referring to the test, we rely on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, we do not test on request
4. You can find more about the coronavirus on the TvoiLokony home page

A coronavirus test may be ordered based on individual physician evaluation

According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health of October 31 this year, in order to receive a referral for a test, the patient should have at least one of four symptoms: loss of taste and / or smell, cough, fever and shortness of breath. However, the final decision was left to the doctors. And they may refuse a test referral if the patient has no symptoms of an upper respiratory infection.

– When a patient claims that his left leg is numb and his wife has COVID-19 – says Dr. Paweł Lewek, family doctor from the Le-Med clinic in Łódź – I start to wonder if he should be sent for a test, because it is not this is a typical symptom of the coronavirus, figured in the world literature. For me, the key symptoms are mainly symptoms from the upper respiratory tract, but also severe fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and non-specific chest pains. Diarrhea and nausea are also reported in COVID-19 patients, although much less frequently than other symptoms.

1. See also: What are the typical and atypical symptoms of coronavirus infection?

– The indications for ordering the test are symptoms such as cough, runny nose, fever, smell and taste disorders, which suggest that the patient has a coronavirus infection – says Dr. Katarzyna Śleziak-Barglik, head of the POZ clinic in Ruda Śląska. – On the other hand, if the patient does not meet the criteria of the ministry, but suffers some infection, and additionally states that he has had contact with a person with confirmed COVID-19, then in this situation, even if the symptoms do not agree, I refer him for a test.

– If there are symptoms, you need to check whether the person has COVID or not – says Dr. Lewek. – I believe that if someone is infected with the new coronavirus, they should know about it because we are not sure what the consequences will be in the future..

– Our profession is not mathematical, it is medical art – says Dr. Śleziak-Barglik. – And COVID-19 gives a multitude of symptoms, because, for example, a patient may have sweats instead of fever, which are in a sense its equivalent.

Families of coronavirus patients want to test themselves to shorten the quarantine

Family doctors do not refer asymptomatic patients after contact with coronavirus patients for tests, because they are quarantined.

1. Learn more: What is the quarantine like now? Big changes for household members

Many people in a similar situation try to force a free test to leave home faster. What’s the problem? Doctors explain: the asymptomatic family of the patient remains in quarantine, first for 10 days of isolation of the patient, and then for another 7 days (until recently 10) of their quarantine. After all, family members can become infected even on the last day of isolation of a sick person, so there are no shortcuts.

– Patients imagine that if they do the test, although they do not have symptoms, they will shorten the time of their isolation – says Dr. Śleziak-Barglik. – If the test result is positive, the system counts 10 days of isolation from the date of receipt of the test result. According to them, this calculated isolation shortens the 17-day quarantine resulting from asymptomatic contact.

What do the regulations say? An asymptomatic person must first accompany a family member in isolation with a positive result, and then another 10 days in quarantine. This is a total of 17 days. This information can be found, for example, on the website patient.gov.pl after logging in via the patient’s online account.

– The most sensible thing to do is to do the test 5-7 days after the contact – adds Dr. Śleziak-Barglik. – After all, we do not know when a patient becomes infected while being with the sick person all the time.

Not only asymptomatic patients want to take advantage of referrals for free tests, doctors also refuse those who ask for tests on request, for example, people who want to present the results to the employer. People are also sent back with a receipt if they just want to see if they have already passed COVID-19.

You may be interested in:

1. How Can You Endure Coronavirus Isolation? Astronaut Council
2. Europe is back at the “epicenter” of the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO warns
3. Coronavirus in Poland. What does the doctor feel when he goes to the hospital?
4. #I’m protecting me from the coronavirus. 10 rules to stay healthy in a pandemic

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