Optum testing: a few notes

[JDinWA]

Ordering the tests from Optum is simple, but I was concerned about scheduling the test and couldn't find any useful information on their site so had to have an email conversation with them. They said:

• No appointment is required.
• You can take the test at any time, 24/7, even on holidays.

It's confusing, because the test box itself says "before your appointment". Anyway, I thought I'd share in case anyone else needed to know. Here are the quotes from their email:

"Only one person can take the test at a time, using their own account. Each individual will need to create an account for testing. The eMed customer service is available 24/7. They are even available on holidays. There is no need to set up an appointment.  The customer service number for eMed is 1 (866) 955-1173."

[blueexpedition29]

JD - if it helps ease your concerns :  We have used Emed about 8  times ( X3 people) in the last year and it works exactly as described below.  Easy to use and we have never waited more than 5 minutes when logging in to execute the test.  we usually log in on seperate devices at the same time rather than do it sequentially.  

Hope that helps. 

 

 

[grannyshell]

Ditto. Hubs and I did ours yesterday and it's just as blue expedition described.

[ArizonatoFlorida]

I’m interested to know how you position your phone or IPAD if you don’t have a tripod?

[Sea Viewer]

42 minutes ago, ArizonatoFlorida said:

I’m interested to know how you position your phone or IPAD if you don’t have a tripod?

I lean my phone against a bowl I have on my dining room table.

[RichNBets]

Thanks for posting this.

[madera1]

We used ours both in CA  and while on a hotel in Venice. We had no issues.

[510picker]

3 hours ago, ArizonatoFlorida said:

I’m interested to know how you position your phone or IPAD if you don’t have a tripod?

Buy this table top tripod for $18. It sure made taking our tests much easier. 
 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K7MSV25/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[blueexpedition29]

i use my laptop as it is easy to position camera. 

[12cruise2]

2 hours ago, blueexpedition29 said:

i use my laptop as it is easy to position camera. 

How do you do it--do you put it at desktop height?  Then how does it see the test AND you at the same time?

[iflyrc5]

We used our laptop on the kitchen counter.  Just moved the angle of the screen as needed.  We did ours at 1205am as we had an early morning flight and want to make sure we were negative before flying out.  Worked perfectly.  Will use it again if we still need to test for our Nov Caribbean cruise.

[Cruise Suzy]

9 hours ago, 12cruise2 said:

Then how does it see the test AND you at the same time?

 

No need to see everything at once. Pointed the laptop camera at me during the swabbing process then put the test swab and card on the desk and tilted the laptop screen so the camera focused on those items. During the 15-minute waiting period I could move about as I wished. When the time was up and the proctor came back, I angled the laptop so the camera was on me.

[bogey]

So, to set up the test, all you do is call the customer service number?  Sorry if I’m missing something. I just ordered the tests and have no other info at this point. 

[NattilyAttired]

1 hour ago, bogey said:

So, to set up the test, all you do is call the customer service number?  Sorry if I’m missing something. I just ordered the tests and have no other info at this point. 

Close, but no. When you are ready to take the test, you log on to their website using the internet. It's not a phone call.

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

 

No need to see everything at once. Pointed the laptop camera at me during the swabbing process then put the test swab and card on the desk and tilted the laptop screen so the camera focused on those items. During the 15-minute waiting period I could move about as I wished. When the time was up and the proctor came back, I angled the laptop so the camera was on me.

 

Exactly. All they have to see during the test period is the test card and swab -- they watch to make sure you're not tampering with them, but they don't need to see YOU.

 

[blueexpedition29]

All - it is my belief that there is "artificial intelligence" monitoring of the video feed to ensure the test is not tampered with ( or someone watching multiple video test feeds at the same time).  That is why the camera has to be positioned on the test during the 15 minute interval.  

[Woofumz]

Thank you, this helped a lot.  Getting this test done out of town has been causing anxiety for me.

[vswan]

I had a heck of a time a couple of weeks ago with emed. They would not let me and my husband use the same email account, so had to set him up with my phone email. They must have been very busy that day on their web page. The actual testing with the proctor was fine, but doing the pre-info was a mess - they were supposed to send codes that didn't come and then they sent 2, and only one worked, etc. Waited a couple of hours and everything seemed to have cleared up and went smoothly. After that I decided if there was any way I could take before I left home - even if it was more costly - I was going to do it. Very stressful.

[moosec1]

I ordered our tests. Did you set up everything on the Navica app that it shows on the box?

[JDinWA]

On 9/2/2022 at 8:03 AM, moosec1 said:

I ordered our tests. Did you set up everything on the Navica app that it shows on the box?

I didn't use the app, I just went to https://www.emed.com/ and clicked "Start testing". (I had already set up our profiles on emed.com.) It was slightly confusing during the test because they had us use the back camera for some parts and the front camera for others. The results were emailed to us almost immediately.