Baseline COVID-19 testing program

Project Baseline is an initiative to make it easy and engaging for people to contribute to the map of human health and participate in clinical research. The Baseline platform is purpose-built for securely managing personal health information and has been in use for several years. In collaboration with the California Governor's office, federal, state, and local public health authorities, the Baseline platform is being used to facilitate screening and testing people for COVID-19.

The Baseline COVID-19 Program was established as part of California’s community-based testing program under the direction of the California Department of Public Health. The Baseline COVID-19 Program is a connected and secure solution to support individuals from screening through testing and receipt of their test results, which is done under physician direction. Unlike a simple digital screener, this connected solution enables follow-up with individuals who are screened for future testing based on changes in screening criteria. This program has already screened thousands of individuals in California and is expanding to other states. The Baseline COVID-19 Program is collaborating with other healthcare partners to expand access to testing.

Project Baseline was founded by Verily, a subsidiary of Alphabet focused on life sciences and healthcare and is a sister company to Google.

For the Baseline COVID-19 Program to work, Verily needs a way to authenticate users to appropriately protect their information. Verily turned to Google for this service because Google Account provides best in class authentication. We ask that you link to an existing Google Account or create a new Google Account (which can be done with any email address) for authentication purposes and so that we may securely and privately contact you during the screening and testing process. All the data provided by Baseline COVID-19 Program users for screening is stored separately and not directly linked to a user’s Google Account, which is used for authentication purposes.

This program is first focusing on high-risk populations as advised by national guidelines and the California Department of Public Health. This includes individuals who may be exhibiting symptoms and have other risk factors, and all high-risk workers, regardless of whether they have symptoms. We are working to rapidly expand testing and will be updating the eligibility criteria once more tests become available.

We initially worked with the California Department of Public Health to direct high-risk individuals to newly-launched testing centers across the state. These sites are a part of the California community-based testing program, in conjunction with federal guidelines.

As testing capabilities expand, we will work with the state of California and other local public health authorities and healthcare partners to scale to provide risk screening to more populations. We have developed and published a guide with input from the California Department of Public Health that includes tips and best practices to help other communities launch testing sites, and instructions on how to integrate with the Baseline COVID-19 Program.

No. We will not share any information with your insurance company, primary care physician or other providers without your permission; however, information may be shared with health care professionals and clinical laboratories involved in collection and processing of any biospecimens in connection with the Baseline COVID-19 Program. You and your doctor will continue to make decisions about your care.

Testing through the program is provided free of cost.

The Baseline COVID-19 Program was designed with the privacy and security of personal health information at the forefront. Verily's Baseline COVID-19 Program is supported by our existing Baseline platform, which was built to securely manage personal health information and designed to follow applicable federal and state regulations governing the collection and use of an individual's data. Data collected by Verily from individuals is used and disclosed in accordance with the permissions obtained through our authorization form and data is stored in advanced systems with security and privacy protocols.

Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Program uses Google infrastructure, security services, data storage, website hosting, and other support functions to safely store and protect the data collected on the COVID-19 Program website. Google has a world class team of security and privacy experts dedicated to building, maintaining, and evolving defenses for the Google ecosystem. Google works diligently to keep its infrastructure, code, data, and other intangible assets secure from unauthorized access, alteration, and disclosure. More information about Google's secure infrastructure design can be found at its Infrastructure Security Design Overview (available at https://cloud.google.com/security/infrastructure/design/).

We need your authorization to collect, use and share information in compliance with multiple health regulations and that authorization must be provided before screening begins. The services the Baseline COVID-19 Program is providing inherently require the limited and responsible sharing of information with other groups. Specifically, this information is being used by Departments of Public Health for their operational and planning purposes. In addition, we need to share this information with companies that are performing the testing onsite or laboratories that are running the test. This sharing is fundamental to the coordination of services and is done on limited terms to achieve the purposes of the Baseline COVID-19 Program. Verily is committed to protecting the security and privacy of individual health data entered through the Program.

Verily will have access to information that directly identifies you, including your name, street address, email address, phone number, and survey responses. This information may also be provided to Verily’s contractors, the healthcare professionals who collect your specimen, the clinical laboratory that processes your specimen, the entity that is operating the site and its contractors, the state Department of Public Health and potentially other federal, state, and local health authorities, and other entities that assist with the testing program.

The information collected will be used to perform the test, administer and improve the testing program, and for public health purposes.

Your test results may be provided to Verily and further shared with public health authorities, to inform public health actions to help protect our community.

Verily uses Google infrastructure, security services, data storage, website hosting, and other support functions to safely store and protect the data collected on the COVID-19 Program website. Google’s access to data is strictly limited to the purpose of providing such services. All the data provided by Baseline COVID-19 Program users for screening is stored separately and not directly linked to a user’s Google Account, which is used for authentication purposes.

To learn more, read our privacy policy.

There are two steps to this process: screening and testing. First, you will create an account and take the online screener. If your answers from the screener determine you are eligible at this time, you will receive details on how and where to get tested. Once tested, you'll be informed via email or phone when your COVID-19 test results are available.

Unfortunately no. At this time, only those who are 18 years or older are eligible through this program and anyone who is prioritized for testing will need to provide your reference ID number and a valid photo ID to confirm identity at the testing site. Please consult with your physician if you have concerns about your family’s health.

If you are a healthcare professional, first responder, frontline worker, or critical infrastructure worker and you have been directly exposed while at work, you should consult your place of work for specific occupational health guidance about whether to stay home or continue working while waiting for your results. You should adhere to recommendations set forth by your employer or the department of health, as they may differ from the CDC's guidelines.