Lab Ordered To Stop Coronavirus Testing By MD Health Department

MARYLAND — A pain management company that was conducting coronavirus testing has been ordered to stop after the Maryland Department of Health reported it received a complaint about testing sites it was running.

Advanced Pain Medicine Institute (APMI), based in Greenbelt, is not certified to perform COVID-19 testing and also did not provide patients with test results, state health officials reported.

In the past few weeks, APMI has held testing events at the following locations:

• Bilingual Christian Church, 6000 Erdman Ave., Baltimore, MD 21205, on Tuesday, June 16
• Southern Baptist Church, 1701 North Chester St., Baltimore, MD 21213, on Saturday, June 13
• Church of Philippi, 7422 Race Rd., Hanover, MD 21076, on Saturday, June 6

Those who got tested at the above locations and times should consider getting another test, since the results may be erroneous. People who are symptomatic should seek medical attention, officials said.

“Until Advanced Pain Medicine Institute demonstrates that it is in full compliance with the Code of Maryland Regulations, it must cease all COVID-19 specimen collection and processing," Maryland Health Secretary Robert R. Neall said in a statement. "The Maryland Department of Health’s primary concern is the health and safety of Marylanders."

APMI has been ordered to tell patients their results may be erroneous and to provide a list of who was tested there to state officials.

Until further notice, the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Health Care Quality has suspended APMI’s license to operate a medical laboratory and perform all laboratory testing.