Silver Spring, MD, March 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) was recently awarded a contract not to exceed $8.8 million over three years by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to employ the AIMS+ solution for reporting over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 test results to local, state and federal public health agencies. The AIMS+ business unit will now serve as the mechanism to collect data from OTC COVID-19 test manufacturers and quickly distribute with jurisdictions to support their vital SARS-CoV-2 surveillance work.
While OTC tests provide valuable opportunities for consumers to get quick results, it remains vital that results are reported to local, state and federal public health agencies for continued disease surveillance. Previously, some jurisdictions received result reports from manufacturers but not all. This new contract employs AIMS+ to serve as a centralized electronic results reporting solution for gathering consumer results from those who choose to share with their test manufacturer and send that data to all jurisdictions.
“Most COVID tests are now being done at home, but few of the results are currently being reported to public health authorities,” said NIBIB Director Bruce Tromberg, Ph.D., who leads the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx®) Tech program. “Secure at-home test reporting, with an option to report anonymously, will facilitate an agile public health response in the course of the evolving pandemic.”
“APHL’s AIMS+ team brings specialized public health expertise coupled with technical proficiency that will allow quick implementation of this foundational work,” says Scott J. Becker, chief executive officer, APHL. “As at-home tests for other diseases become commonplace as well, this partnership with NIH presents significant public health data reporting opportunities beyond only COVID-19. We are proud to be part of this innovative effort.”
Learn more about reporting COVID-19 test results reporting and centralized electronic laboratory reporting via AIMS+.
# # #
This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. 75N92022C00021.
The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the U.S. and globally. APHL’s member laboratories protect the public’s health by monitoring and detecting infectious and foodborne diseases, environmental contaminants, terrorist agents, genetic disorders in newborns and other diverse health threats. Learn more at www.aphl.org.
