September 18, 2020 - Testing for coronavirus, or PCR test, can recently be done in a private laboratory in Podgorica, for 80 euros. The private health institution "MojLab", founded at the end of August, announced yesterday that in addition to serological and rapid tests, PCR analyzes are also being performed, the results of which are obtained in 24 hours, Vijesti writes.
The owner of the newly opened institution is Milan Mijović, and the director is Najdana Gligorović Barhanović, until recently the director of the Center for Clinical and Laboratory Diagnostics at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG).
Meanwhile, the Institute of Public Health (IPH) sent more than 1,000 samples to Germany. The IPH announced on Monday that the huge influx of materials for processing led to the fact that about 1,300 samples are waiting for analysis. It is the situation they found themselves in at the beginning of July when about 2,000 pieces were analyzed in Germany.
PCR analyzes have been performed since the beginning of the year only in the IPH, whose human and technical capacities are burdened, and the opening of a new laboratory in KC has been announced for October.
Are there rules for cooperation between IPH and private institutions?
The IPH has previously appealed to private health institutions who have a PCR device to help with the public health response to the coronavirus epidemic, but no private-public partnership has taken place.
From one of the laboratories that own this machine, "Vijesti" was previously told that they have a device for PCR diagnostics and an information system for coding patients, but that they did not discuss possible cooperation with the authorities.
"Maybe we would get involved, provided that we get samples and that the Institute keeps records of positives and takes over further treatment and surveillance of contacts. All that is still undefined, the rules must be precise and respected ", they said then.
Numerous categories of the population, such as passengers in international traffic, have not been able to pay for a PCR test for months and do it with a private individual or IPH. Some sailors paid 450 euros for this test to the Dubrovnik clinic "Marin Med" through the eponymous health institution whose headquarters are in Kotor.
