Healthy Living
Governor Lifts Regulations to Allow Expansion of COVID-19 Testing in Connecticut
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Gov. Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is lifting certain regulations on who can order diagnostic tests to allow for a major expansion of COVID-19 testing in the state. — an announcement from the Governor’s Office (with boldface added here)
This includes the suspension of the requirement that patients receive a referral from a physician or other prescribing medical provider (such as a physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or certified nurse practitioner) prior to being administered a COVID-19 test, and the modification of state laws and regulations in order to allow these tests to be conducted by pharmacists. The governor explained that this will help the state in its overall goal of significantly increasing the number of people who are receiving tests, particularly for those in underserved communities or who may not have a primary care physician. He also said that allowing the COVID-19 tests to be administered at pharmacies will increase access, especially within more populated, urban areas and facilitate increased screening of essential front-line workers. “One of our top priorities to combat COVID-19 is to significantly increase testing.
