b'But for something like a gastrointestinal (GI) panel, we try toWhat do you think will be the future ways that advances tell a provider not to order that unless the patient has beenin molecular testing will improve patient care?sick for more than 7 days, because most mild GI infectionsYears ago, I wrote an article about how we didnt expect to are self-limited and the patient is usually going to get bettersee molecular testing performed outside the main laboratory. within that time frame. We leave specific comments for theseI was afraid of people performing these tests without the right situations so that at the time of ordering, the provider can seeexperience and that they could cause cross-contamination. the requirement for ordering the test, and if the test is positive,But COVID-19 really changed my perspective. We didnt have any a comment is added for an interpretation of those specific results.other choice but to provide molecular testing in other clinics. We This has helped a lot in ambulatory clinics where it is otherwisetrained them, validated the tests, then monitored how they were very difficult to educate everyone working there. doing. We didnt have any problems during the pandemic with cross-contamination.What are some of the ways that you see molecular testing improving patient care in the context of ASPs? In the future, we need to have more molecular tests at the No doubt having rapid results, particularly PCR testing forpoint of care. These tests could quickly diagnose some of the bloodstream infections, has been a huge help because everymost frequently encountered infections and rule out things hour you delay administering not only antimicrobial therapy butlike SARS-CoV-2, Group A Streptococcus, and influenza A the right antimicrobial therapy, the patient has lower chancesand influenza B. Several test manufacturers have also added of survival. respiratory syncytial virus, as there has been an increase in cases of infection. Home testing also will continue. All of these Sometimes we have the identification of an organism comingadvances can help decrease the likelihood of inappropriate from the blood culture, but we dont yet have all the susceptibilityantibiotic prescribing.testing. So, we publish our antibiogram with the rate of antibiotic susceptibility for each organism seen in our hospital. That way, all our providers can select empiric therapy based on pathogen identification, until the full susceptibility report is available, so theyReference1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022) COVID-19 & Antimicrobial dont have to start with a broad antibiotic. Resistance. https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/covid19.htmlElizabeth Palavecino, MDDr. Elizabeth Palavecino is a clinical pathologist with sub-specialty training in microbiology. With over two decades of experience in clinical laboratory settings, she continuously strives to integrate the latest microbiological and molecular testing methods with clinical practice, with the goal of providing cost-effective and high-quality patient care. As a member of the point-of-care committee at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, she also oversees laboratories that perform point-of-care testing within that institution.25 Molecular testing thermofisher.com/infectiousdisease Contents'