COVID-19 Tests Gone Rogue: Privacy, Efficacy, Mismanagement and Misunderstandings

Manuel Morales; Rachel Barbar; Darshan Gandhi; Sanskruti Landage; Joseph Bae; Arpita Vats; Jil Kothari; Sheshank Shankar; Rohan Sukumaran; Himi Mathur; Krutika Misra; Aishwarya Saxena; Parth Patwa; Sethuraman T. V.; Maurizio Arseni; Shailesh Advani; Kasia Jakimowicz; Sunaina Anand; Priyanshi Katiyar; Ashley Mehra; Rohan Iyer; Srinidhi Murali; Aryan Mahindra; Mikhail Dmitrienko; Saurish Srivastava; Ananya Gangavarapu; Steve Penrod; Vivek Sharma; Abhishek Singh; Ramesh Raskar

arXiv · 2101.01693

COVID-19 Tests Gone Rogue: Privacy, Efficacy, Mismanagement and Misunderstandings

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Abstract

COVID-19 testing, the cornerstone for effective screening and identification of COVID-19 cases, remains paramount as an intervention tool to curb the spread of COVID-19 both at local and national levels. However, the speed at which the pandemic struck and the response was rolled out, the widespread impact on healthcare infrastructure, the lack of sufficient preparation within the public health system, and the complexity of the crisis led to utter confusion among test-takers. Invasion of privacy remains a crucial concern. The user experience of test takers remains low. User friction affects user behavior and discourages participation in testing programs. Test efficacy has been overstated. Test results are poorly understood resulting in inappropriate follow-up recommendations. Herein, we review the current landscape of COVID-19 testing, identify four key challenges, and discuss the consequences of the failure to address these challenges. The current infrastructure around testing and information propagation is highly privacy-invasive and does not leverage scalable digital components. In this work, we discuss challenges complicating the existing covid-19 testing ecosystem and highlight the need to improve the testing experience for the user and reduce privacy invasions. Digital tools will play a critical role in resolving these challenges.

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Manuel Morales, Rachel Barbar, Darshan Gandhi, Sanskruti Landage, Joseph Bae, Arpita Vats, Jil Kothari, Sheshank Shankar, Rohan Sukumaran, Himi Mathur, Krutika Misra, Aishwarya Saxena, Parth Patwa, Sethuraman T. V., Maurizio Arseni, Shailesh Advani, Kasia Jakimowicz, Sunaina Anand, Priyanshi Katiyar, Ashley Mehra, Rohan Iyer, Srinidhi Murali, Aryan Mahindra, Mikhail Dmitrienko, Saurish Srivastava, Ananya Gangavarapu, Steve Penrod, Vivek Sharma, Abhishek Singh, Ramesh Raskar. 2021-01-05. COVID-19 Tests Gone Rogue: Privacy, Efficacy, Mismanagement and Misunderstandings. https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.01693

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