This article will review how to register a tube for pooling and associating test takers to the pool.
North Carolina HHS requires demographic information for all tests run including pooled negatives so that they can track testing equity within their entire population including historically marginalized and socially vulnerable populations. Note: As of 1/31/22, all pooled tubes can hold a MAXIMUM of 10 swabs, so please ensure all pools contain between 5-10 Test Takers.
In order to do so, individuals within a pool will need to be entered into the portal.
To begin, ensure you are signed in as a Test Supervisor. Then, select your location.
After that, ensure you have selected the "Register Pooled Tube" tab at the top of the screen.
Then, you will use the barcode scanner to scan in the tube and enter a Pool Name.
Then, you'll enter the number of swabs in the tube and select the test takers that are a part of the pool.
If a test taker is not showing up in the portal, please ask the Test Champion to upload them.
Because the pooled tests are now screened instead of surveillance tests, questionnaire questions are required for the physician order and for reporting to the state.
Once all the individuals are entered the pool can be completed. The number of swabs must equal the number of individuals entered and pooled tubes cannot be registered without associating individuals to a pool. Remember that each pool must contain a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 swabs.
Finally, check the "Registration History" to ensure that the tube has been successfully registered.
Continue to register each tube and associated test takers with each tube, that you have tested that day until they have all been registered. Then, follow the Instructions for Preparing a Shipment.