Point-of Care Testing Solutions with QuidelOrtho

Shannon Battle (00:05):
Well, hello everyone and welcome to this edition of IPC’s Vendor Advantage Network, our Preferred Vendor Spotlight. My name is Shannon Battle. I’m the Pharmacy Services Manager here at Independent Pharmacy Cooperative (IPC). I manage the Vendor Advantage Network and work with vendors like QuidelOrtho to bring you the best clinical and retail programs—really any vendors that your pharmacies are looking into and need to help move your pharmacy forward.

Following along with our current focus, we’re working on point-of-care testing and solutions this quarter. Today I have the pleasure of sitting down with Allison from QuidelOrtho. They’re one of our preferred vendors and they have great options for stores looking to expand their point-of-care testing and patient education. Welcome, Allison.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (00:52):
Thank you so much. I’m happy to be here.

Shannon Battle (00:54):
Awesome. Thank you for providing the slides today. There’s a lot of great information ahead, so let’s go ahead and jump right in.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (01:01):
Awesome. My name’s Allison Leone and I’m a medical technologist. I earned my degree in Medical Technology from Illinois State University. I grew up in Illinois. My career began in laboratory medicine, and then I moved into the manufacturing side where I worked in technical installation, sales, and marketing. I’ve been with QuidelOrtho for nine years—five years initially, then I left and came back. I really like working here, so that’s a little bit about me.

Shannon Battle (01:51):
Awesome. Well, let’s move right into what you have to offer.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (01:54):
When we think about testing, we definitely have the right solutions for the consumer healthcare areas. We have many products in retail clinics and pharmacies, and I like to look at it from three pillars:

An at-home solution for COVID testing

QuickVue, which is a visually read solution

Sofia 2, which is an instrumented solution

We have a broad test menu, focusing on infectious disease, specifically respiratory, and we also offer a Lyme disease solution.

Shannon Battle (03:03):
It’s really important—if you’re not already doing point-of-care testing, to get into it. With cold and flu season coming up, you want to be that hub for your patients.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (03:12):
Correct.

Shannon Battle (03:13):
Alright, QuickVue.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (03:14):
QuickVue has been tried and true. It’s been in the market since the early eighties. We had an over-the-counter solution at that time, and then we moved solely into the professional markets until about 2020–2021 when we reintroduced the OTC version during the pandemic. So QuickVue has been around for probably more than 30 years, closer to 35.

Point-of-care testing with QuickVue helps you get results faster so you can treat patients quickly. The kits include everything—swabs, controls, etc.—and with the exception of SARS (which has a 12-month shelf life under EUA), most kits last 24 months. QuickVue allows you to customize your test-to-treat program if visually read testing is your preference.

Shannon Battle (05:02):
I think they’re both going to be good for our pharmacies, so let’s go over this one next.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (05:09):
Great. With Sofia 2, we have over 70,000 units placed. Large pharmacy systems use it, but smaller pharmacies do as well. It’s an instrumented solution but very compact. It can handle high volume—marketing says 50 tests per hour, I say more realistically 30.

It provides objective results, eliminating the uncertainty of faint lines. It’s also cost-effective, with major per-test discounts available. Sofia 2 integrates with pharmacy systems, stores up to 1,000 results, and allows USB export for audits.

Shannon Battle (06:54):
That’s good—especially for busy pharmacies where staff can’t always stand and wait for results.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (07:01):
Exactly. Sofia 2 has no real trade-offs. It’s quick, accurate, affordable, and supports reimbursement models. While patient care comes first, it also helps your bottom line.

For flu and RSV tests, it uses advanced technology that can return positive results earlier than the standard 15 minutes. In walkaway mode, it checks the cassette every three minutes and can deliver results in as little as six minutes.

There’s also a Read Now mode, which is useful in high-volume scenarios—like testing a family of five. After incubation, each result takes only 11 seconds. This makes clinics and community testing much more efficient.

It also has a four-hour battery option for portability, record-keeping features, barcode scanning, and optional printing.

Shannon Battle (10:09):
That’s amazing for pharmacies hosting clinics and community events.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (10:24):
Yes, and it’s also reliable for audits. Results can be backed up monthly via USB, which makes compliance easier than manual lot tracking.

Shannon Battle (11:41):
That record-keeping capability is a big improvement compared to traditional paper methods.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (12:29):
Exactly. Our menu includes Flu A/B, SARS-CoV-2, Flu + SARS combo, RSV, Strep A, and Lyme disease. We were first to market with a 510(k)-cleared SARS antigen test, which means others must compare to us as the benchmark.

Shannon Battle (13:26):
A lot of stores ask about getting set up with CLIA waivers.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (13:45):
I can help with that. We’ll go through the CMS Form 116 together. Pharmacies will need to provide details like hours of operation, but I’ll guide you through the process.

Shannon Battle (14:15):
Alright, let’s talk about contracts and pricing.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (14:19):
We have two contracting options:

Capital Purchase – Buy the analyzer for $750 (discounted from $1,200), then pay per-test costs.

Placement – Receive the analyzer at no cost with a commitment of 50 tests annually (standard is 300).

With placement, a startup cost example would be $381.25 for one flu kit and one strep kit (25 tests each).

Pricing:

SARS: $11/test

Flu + SARS combo: $14/test

Flu A/B, Strep A, RSV, Lyme: discounted IPC member rates

Shannon Battle (15:55):
That’s an amazing deal—especially for stores wanting to try testing or run clinics.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (16:09):
Yes, it’s designed to make getting started simple and affordable while still generating revenue.

Shannon Battle (17:21):
Allison, thank you for sharing all this valuable information. I think this will help a lot of pharmacies who are on the fence about POCT. For those watching, you can use the QR code to visit the IPC vendor page or reach out to us with questions.

Allison Leone, MT (ASCP) (17:22):
Thank you—it was a pleasure being here.