New Jersey-based medical technology company Becton Dickinson, or BD, is conducting an investigation following reports that its COVID-19 point-of-care testing equipment is producing false positive results for some providers.
A company spokesman stated that “a small number of nursing homes” have reported multiple false positive results from its Veritor testing equipment, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. BD added that it has immediately contacted those sites and is seeking additional details regarding their situations, but the reports “don’t reflect findings in the company’s studies.”
The Department of Health and Human Services said it’s closely monitoring the situation; the Food and Drug Administration said it’s also looking into the issue, according to the WSJ report.
BD is one of two companies that was selected by the federal government to distribute COVID-19 point-of-care testing devices and supplies to each U.S. nursing home. Nursing homes have been supplied with at least one Quidel Sofia 2 Instrument or BD Veritor™ Plus System. HHS is now working with BD and other distributors on supply chain issues in an effort to ensure testing equipment can be restocked for nursing homes, federal officials said.
“BD takes its responsibility very seriously under our agreement with HHS to provide more than 11,000 nursing homes with high-quality and reliable tests to support their efforts to protect residents and staff from COVID-19,” the spokesman added.
Both the American Health Care Association and LeadingAge said they’ve heard reports of false positives from a small number of providers, according to the report. LeadingAge Ohio has encouraged providers to contact it if they’re experiencing any problems with their BD supplies.
