Online COVID-19 screening, test self-scheduling reduce wait times for patients

Gundersen's online COVID-19 screening and self-scheduled testing locations have expanded since this article was published. Contact your nearest Gundersen location for details.

Some Gundersen Health System patients can now be screened for COVID-19 online and self-schedule a COVID-19 test, speeding up the process for many community members and helping relieve overburdened staff.

How does it work?

Gundersen patients who have a MyChart account and want to be tested at Gundersen's drive-up lab on the North Side of La Crosse simply need to log in to their patient portal and select "Menu" followed by "COVID Screening."

The screening process takes patients through a series of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended questions. Once finished, patients can choose a timeframe to be tested at Gundersen's testing site at 1207 Mulberry Lane in La Crosse.

Guardians of children ages 3 and older also may use the tool to screen and schedule a test for their child, if the child has a MyChart account.

Since March, Gundersen nurses have been fielding between 300 to 700 phone calls per day from patients—many of them needing to be screened and tested for COVID-19. Such high call volumes have resulted in long wait times for some patients, especially those calling between the peak times of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

MyChart's new COVID-19 screening and test self-scheduling feature is intended to reduce these wait times, as well as free up nurses to talk longer with patients concerned about their symptoms and educate COVID-19-positive patients.

While patients currently can only self-schedule a COVID-19 test in La Crosse, the healthcare system is exploring the possibility of increasing access by adding more Gundersen testing sites to the MyChart feature.

Gundersen employees should continue to call Employee Health Services for COVID-19 screening and testing information, rather than use MyChart.