On September 22, 2020, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that state-wide laboratory testing capacity and turnaround time for results had improved. As a result, they announced that that until further notice, all four tiers in their Testing Prioritization Guidance have equal priority for testing. LAC DPH updated the priorities for COVID-19 testing to align with state prioritization. See LAC DPH Testing Guidelines below for more information.
All healthcare providers and systems should now be able to provide their patients with timely access to SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing when indicated. See Health Officer Order: Access to Diagnostic Testing Through Healthcare Facilities for more information. Organizations that need assistance to identify a suitable laboratory provider are encouraged to view the resources in the laboratories section below.
Laboratories Providing COVID-19 PCR Molecular Testing Updated Reference Guide LA County Department of Health Services (LAC DHS) has created this guide to help organizations identify a laboratory provider that best fits their needs. This document provides an overview of some of the laboratories offering testing to LA County providers and residents.
California Testing Task Force Lab List The Testing Task Force is maintaining a list of labs that have met certain criteria for readiness and can receive samples for RT-PCR COVID testing.
All laboratories (regardless of their location) that test Los Angeles County residents must register with CDPH.
The goals of viral testing are to identify persons actively infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus in order to provide optimal clinical care, prevent and control outbreaks, and decrease spread through case investigation, isolation of cases, and quarantine of exposed contacts.
Diagnostic (viral) testing is strongly recommended for the following individuals:
In addition, testing is supported for other asymptomatic individuals presenting for testing as listed below in Priorities for COVID-19 Testing Tiers 2-4. When making individual testing recommendations, clinicians should consider the patient’s likelihood of COVID-19 (their individual exposure risk and the prevalence of COVID-19 in their setting/workplace), as well as the degree to which the result will change the individual’s management. In addition, clinicians should review the limitations of testing. See Considerations for Testing Asymptomatic Persons for more information.
Diagnostic (viral) testing is not recommended for asymptomatic persons who have recently recovered from laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within the past 3 months. See Patients who have Recently Recovered from COVID-19 for more information.
If PCR testing resources are insufficient, providers should follow these priorities
Tier 1
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4
* When healthcare facilities elect to conduct pre-admission or pre-procedure screening of patients for COVID-19, it is important to continue to practice COVID-19 infection prevention precautions on patients testing negative due to the risk of false negatives.
Coverage of COVID-19 Testing: FAQs from the Department of Managed Health Care (5-22-20)
Zero Cost Sharing: All commercial and Medi-Cal health plans in California must provide all medically necessary COVID-19 testing and visits with zero cost sharing. All Plan Letter.
Note: PDF documents on this site were created using Adobe Acrobat 5.0 or later. Document functionality may be reduced if you are using an earlier version (4.x or less). Get the latest version of Adobe Acrobat.
Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.
