How to overcome the challenges of COVID-19 testing in the vaccination eraInsights Series, issue 20: COVID-19 testing in the vaccine era - Challenges and solutions for healthcare executives 

This paper is part of the Siemens Healthineers Insights Series - The New Normal. It provides ideas and solutions on 'Expanding precision medicine'.

Healthcare executives should:

• Continue highlighting the relevance of testing in the vaccination era. The virus has the potential to affect virtually every clinical and operational aspect of hospitals and other care settings.
• Foster care team coordination to support testing infrastructure. Processes include identifying the right tests, providing ongoing education to staff and patients, refining and reinforcing testing logistics, and making plans to scale up testing and patient management as the situation merits.
• Lead the effort to develop and implement specific protocols for different subpopulations based on clinical and social factors.
• Maintain vigilance and build responsive teams in their organizations to prepare for the unknown, from clinically significant novel virus strains to unexpected data on vaccine efficacy, preparation is key.