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Oxford paramedics implement handheld COVID-19 testing tech


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It used to take Oxford County paramedics about six minutes per patient to complete the paperwork needed for every new COVID-19 test.

Now, thanks to a new handheld technology program, that time will be cut to just 36 seconds.

Oxford County announced Monday the new handheld technology will be used to scan a health card or driver’s licence to create a lab requisition form instead of having paramedics fill out paper forms.

“This technology will have a tremendous effect on workflow, work accuracy and, ultimately, lab turnaround times by eliminating manual entry at the lab,” the county said in a statement.

Before introducing this technology, paramedics would fill out paperwork by hand, including paper requisitions for lab testing and manually generated specimen labels, requiring what the county said is hours of work and impacting testing speed.

Now, the scan of a driver’s licence or health card can be done in just 36 seconds and create a fully digital lab requisitions.

Local paramedics have been instrumental in the county’s COVID-19 response, helping conduct mobile and drive-thru testing, managing the county’s personal protective equipment supply for essential workers, and now administering vaccines in long-term care homes.

The technology program comes from Ontario Health, and is a partnership with paramedics and the Woodstock Hospital testing centre. Oxford County paramedics currently test between 650 and 1,000 people every week.



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