About
We seek to significantly speed access to testing in order to stop the spread of infectious disease and save lives in an outbreak in the United States.
The goal of the Testing Playbook is to provide US decision-makers at the federal, state, and local level with a clear and evidence-based guide for making rapid and effective decisions regarding the development, implementation, and scale-up of diagnostic testing in an infectious disease emergency. Experience during previous outbreaks in the US has shown that a variety of testing approaches is necessary as an outbreak evolves. This rapidly changing environment has resulted in uncertainty for decision makers, as well as members of the public. The Playbook is explicitly designed to decrease uncertainty by illustrating the steps to be taken at each stage, while consistently enabling rapid and equitable access to testing.
The Testing Playbook was developed collaboratively by subject matter experts at the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, Arizona State University College of Health Solutions and Illumina Ventures, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, and the STAT Public Health Network at the Brown University School of Public Health, with funding from the Peterson Foundation. Importantly, 37 public health leaders were consulted to inform its creation with expertise from across federal agencies, state and local governments, commercial and hospital laboratories, academic medical centers, and diagnostic manufacturers.
