Attn: Nursing Homes, Community-Based Residential Facilities, and Residential Care Apartment Complexes
COVID-19 Testing - Facilities Served by MAKO Medical Laboratories
MAKO Medical Laboratories shares the following tips, which will help with timely results. The first three tips are simple action items. The fourth tip is a consideration for the facility based on operating preference.
The following tips apply only to facilities testing with MAKO Medical Laboratories.
Tip #1 – Write “WISCONSIN” on the sides of each FedEx bag.
Wisconsin is a priority customer for MAKO Medical Laboratories. Bags marked “WISCONSIN” will be diagnosed before other customers. Bags not marked may have a longer turnaround time, as they will be tested alongside non-Wisconsin customers.
Tip #2 – Record your FedEx tracking number.
The FedEx tracking number is helpful in researching lost or delayed specimens resulting in timelier problem resolution. The tracking number assures you, the State, and MAKO, when specimens have arrived to the lab. In addition, it allows MAKO to work more quickly with FedEx to locate misplaced packages.
Tip #3 – Break the swab tip into the vial.
Specimens without the swab tip broken into the tube or vial may be rejected by the lab, requiring a retest. MAKO’s collection procedure instructs the collector to break the swab, leaving the swab tip in the tube or vial. MAKO’s specimen collection instructions are available on MAKO’s COVID-19 HELP page, COVID-19 TESTING AND INFORMATION.
Tip #4 – Opt out from receiving telephone and email notifications of positive COVID-19 test results.
MAKO Medical Laboratories notifies facilities of positive test results through telephone or email prior to releasing the test results to the portal. Under this condition, positive test results do not release to the portal until notification is made. This has resulted in unintended delays for some facilities.
An alternate option is to bypass telephone and email notification and receive the results directly from the portal. In this circumstance, MAKO releases test results to the portal in real-time; there is no delay pending notification. Positive test results released in real-time to the portal will not be accompanied with telephone or email notification. It is the responsibility of the facility to check their own portal results for positive testing results.
Instruction to opt out of first receiving telephone or email notification:
Send an email to accounts@makomedical.com, carbon copy (Cc:) mcullinan@makomedical.com, with the subject line “Wisconsin – Opt out of positive critical contacts”. The email should state that the facility (name) would "like to opt out of positive critical contacts". The email must include the facility’s corresponding location codes/Hnumber and a contact person to receive the emails every four hours.
Upon request, MAKO Medical will provide larger facilities (those that produce greater than 100 results a week) with an excel file every four hours with positive results, which can also be searched by using the portal.
For more information, or if you have questions, please contact the State Testing Customer Outreach email box at: WICovidTest@wi.gov.
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