How to use eMed and the Navica app to access the only CDC approved, home-based COVID-19 testing kit

covid-19 home test from emed

The Navica app gives you the option of COVID-19 testing at home and provides you with a coveted digital health pass that you can use when traveling internationally and when you return to the US.  

It’s no surprise to anyone worldwide that COVID-19 has changed how we travel, work, and manage our health.

Whether you’re needing a negative test for re-entry into the U.S. or are required to test negative before returning to work, take advantage of this convenient way to test at home and digitally receive your results within minutes.

The eMed and Navica platform is currently accepted by major airlines such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines for entry into the U.S.

Suggested reading:

What is eMed and how do you get started with their home-based COVID-19 testing kit? Navica at home covid-19 test kit

eMed is a telehealth company that has created an innovative, digital point-of-care platform to provide at-home healthcare services. They recently partnered with multiple airlines, such as United, to offer U.S. citizens the option of a home-based COVID-19 testing kit.

A large part of their website is geared towards helping international travelers meet re-entry requirements, but their tests are also available for other reasons. Anyone can purchase a testing kit.

At this time, proof of a negative COVID-10 test is required for all air passengers two years of age or older boarding a flight from a foreign country to the United States, regardless of citizenship.

Even if you aren’t traveling, perhaps your work requires a negative test to return to the office. Other organizations, such as concert venues and sporting events, may require attendees to provide a negative test, regardless of vaccination status.

With the additional stress of securing a test while traveling, eMed gives you peace of mind knowing that all testing is supervised and proctored by eMed’s Certified Guides who will walk you through the entire process online.

The BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card Home Test is available for adults and children two years of age or older.

Children 15 or older can self-collect and perform the test under the observation of the eMed Certified Guide. Any children under age 15 (between ages 2-14) must have an adult present to perform the sample collection under the observation of an eMed Certified Guide.

Each person, including children, must have a separate appointment with an eMed guide. You cannot combine testing with multiple people, including a parent testing with a child.

As of August 2021, eMed, and their partner app, Navica, provide the only CDC-accepted, home-based COVID-19 testing kit for international travel.

Here’s how you start if using the test for travel:

  1. Book your flights (assuming you are returning to the U.S.)
  2. Order the COVID-19 Antigen rapid tests from eMed’s website
    1. For individuals traveling as a couple or with family, make sure you select the option Myself and others when answering the eMed testing questionnaire under are you ordering for yourself or someone else? eMed option to purchase test for self and self and others or just others
    2. You must enter the full name (first and last) of each person taking the test–up to 3 people (2 tests per person.) If there are more members in your family, order additional kits and select Others when answering the testing questionnaire. eMed covid at home test enter the full names of each test taker up to 3 people
    3. Only the test purchaser can set up an eMed user account (any listed others do not need a separate eMed account.) You can only purchase tests if you are 18 years of age or older
  3. Receive tests shipped to your U.S. address (or find a local pick-up location)
  4. Create a digital health pass account and download the Navica app
    1. If you are traveling with family, each person (adult) must install Navica on their own device and create an account. For children under 15, set up a managed account in the app
  5. Pack two tests per person in your carry-on luggage

At this time, you can only purchase a 6-pack of tests from eMed. Although you need to pay upfront, your cost should be reimbursed by your health insurer. 

How do you use the Navica app and its home testing kit?

This first step is very important. You must download the app and create a digital health pass account BEFORE your board your international flight to leave the country. app for covid-19 test

You can download the app for free, and it is compatible with both iOS and Android mobile devices. Once downloaded, simply enter in some basic information to create an account.  

You must create a Managed Account for any children and minors 15 and under in the Navica app. You can also add other adult traveling companions to a managed account.

When you travel internationally, you need to get a COVID-19 viral test (regardless of vaccination status or citizenship) no more than 1 day before you travel by air into the United States (1 day before the departure of the first flight.) You must show your negative result to the airline before you board your flight.

DO NOT administer the test on your own without consulting an eMed Certified Guide. Self-administered tests do not receive a digital NAVICA™ Pass of a negative result.

To begin your test:

  1. Set aside some time a maximum of one day before you return to the U.S.
  2. Start your session by visiting emed.com and selecting “START TEST
  3. Wait in the queue until you are prompted by an online guide to self-administer your nasal swab
  4. Receive your test result in the Navica app
  5. Scan the QR code of your encrypted digital pass to board your flight covid-19 home test kit

Navigating around the app itself is extremely simple. Along the bottom, you’ll find a few tabs that provide you with your results in various forms.

To access your time-sensitive and encrypted digital health pass with QR code for scanning, click on “Pass”. health pass digital on navica

To share or print a PDF version of your negative test result, click on “Results”. PDF or print navica covid-19 results

What are the benefits of using the Navica app for COVID-19 testing at home?

  • Simple and easy to use
  • Cost-effective at $25 a test–plus, health insurance should reimburse you for tests. eMed cannot bill your health insurance directly but, because of government mandate, eMed’s at-home COVID-19 test should be covered by your health insurance provider.
  • Accept FSA or HSA payments for the at-home COVID-19 test kits
  • No waiting in line at a public testing site
  • Digital results sent to mobile phone via app and email
  • Results come at 20 minutes or less
  • Accepted (and partners with) several major airlines (United, American, and Delta to date)

What are the drawbacks?

  • To the same point, this kit is only currently contracted with several airlines (uncertain if the test is accepted by their partner airlines)
  • The time it takes from start to finish, often 30 minutes+
  • Each person, including children, need to call in separately. You cannot combine tests within a family
  • A good internet connection needed
  • Only valid for re-entry to the U.S. (can’t be used to enter a foreign country)

How to set up a managed account in the Navica app

If you are traveling with children under 15, you must create a managed account in the NAVICA app.

You can also use Navica’s managed account for aging disabled parents or loved ones and any person whom you manage their healthcare.

  1. Log into Navica App using your credentials (must be an adult that’s already created an account)
  2. Choose the profile icon at the top profile and account icon in Navica app
  3. Tap Add a Managed Profile add managed profile option in Navica app
  4. Choose the Add a Managed Profile button
  5. Scroll and read through the Managed Profile agreement and tap Yes
  6. Add your child’s or minor’s details including full name and date of birth
  7. Type in their address details (even if these details are the same as yours)
  8. Add further details like gender, ethnicity, and so forth and tap Create Profile
  9. Once Navica creates your child’s or minor’s profile, tap Done
  10. Repeat for any additional minors or children

Additional thoughts and tips

While traveling to Italy in August 2021, I utilized eMed and the Navica app to get my negative COVID-19 test before returning to the U.S. The testing kits don’t take up much space in your luggage, and the app is simple to set up and use. home covid-19 test with emed

I found the proctored test to be very structured and easy to follow. You’ll be on a video chat with a certified guide. They will be able to see you (in order to verify you are completing the nasal swab correctly), but you will only be able to hear (and not see) them.

Even though the time from completing the nasal swab to getting my test results took a mere 20-25 minutes, waiting in the queue to be paired with a proctor took about an hour and a half to two hours!

The nice thing about this is you can set it and forget it. Choose an evening when you are back lounging in your hotel. Get in the queue, and just watch a movie or answer emails while you wait.

As someone who has also stood in line at a public testing site, I spent about two and a half hours of my time from start to finish.

So, the waiting time is similar whether you do the COVID-19 testing at home or in public. I still think that being able to wait while you watch a movie is better than standing out on a busy street to get the same result.

34 COMMENTS

  1. You have been hugely helpful. I’ve called twice for different questions there and you have managed to do it more succinctly than the support team. Thank you!!

  2. I have a NAVICA profile all set and just took the test 12 hours ago on emed but results have yet to show up in my results section on NAVICA

    • Hi Joanne,

      Usually, they show up by now. Try closing the Navica app on your phone and then open it again so the app refreshes its data. Signing out of the app and then signing back in should also refresh its data.

      If your test hasn’t shown up within 24 hours of taking it, contact their support team at (800) 257-9525, and press option 2. Support agents are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

  3. If I understand this correctly, I will need both the Navica app account and an eMed account. Then you log in to eMed to take the test and they send the results to your e-mail and to the Navica app. Do I have this right?
    Thanks in advance for any assistance.

  4. As of April 2022 the test timeline is Not Always 24 Hrs before entering the US but quote from CDC website “If your itinerary has you arriving to the US via 1 or more connecting flights, your test can be taken within 1 day before the departure of the first flight.” The 1-day period is 1 day before flights departure. Example: “if flight is 1 pm on Friday you could board with a negative test that was taken any time on the prior Thursday.”
    “The Order uses a 1-day time frame instead of 24 hours to provide more flexibility to the passenger and aircraft operator.”
    I always look at dates on website s like yours to insure current requirements.

  5. I’m taking a cruise on NCL and returning via Vancouver on a Delta flight. Will Navica test service be accepted for both legs of the trip?

  6. I don’t remember whether I selected myself and others when I ordered these tests. Can I find out somehow? My husband and will both need to use them.

  7. I’m unable to download the app because my phone is older but I did set up a Navica account. Once I log on to Emed and log into my Navica account will that work?

    • Hi Patti,

      We are not sure if you can use just the web portal with the eMed test. I’ve reached out to their support team to confirm.

    • Hi Patti,

      I confirmed with eMed that you can use their website to run your covid test. You do not need to use the Navica app.

      Like the app, all tests on the website with an eMed Certified Guide are per person. You cannot combine tests for family members–each person must perform a unique session with a guide.

      Go to the eMed website and log in. Press the button to Start Testing. Choose your state and select the start testing button again.

      Then, log in with your Navica account credentials. Select the person taking the test, then proceed with the pre-test questionnaire.

      Allow access to both the camera and microphone to perform the test with the guide and verify identity.

      Only open and proceed with the test once connected to the eMed guide and instructed to start the test. DO NOT open the test kit until instructed–otherwise, the test is voided.

      Set aside about 20-30 minutes per person to take the test. Results are emailed to the main contact.

  8. If I have a Navica account, and created a managed account for my kid and my husband, when we wait in queue for testing, are we going to have to wait 2 hours for each person, or can we wait the first 2 hours, and then use the appointment to test all three of us?

    • Hi CH,

      Good questions. As far as we know, each person, including children, needs to call separately. The call center is open all day and night (eMed Certified Guides are available 24/7) so you can call in during off-hours and hopefully not need to wait as long as 2 hours per person. Since you use a managed account, all your family’s results appear in your registered email.

      I am following up with eMed on this to confirm if there are any changes in how they process tests.

    • Hi CH,

      I did reach out to eMed and I can confirm that each person, including children, need to call in separately. They do not allow combined testing on a single call, even with children and parents.

      Here’s their response:

      You have to repeat all the process with each person, because the result appears with the name of the person you select on the questionnaire prior to the test, so every time you have to select a different person.

      And the waiting time online is around 5 minutes. All-in-all the test takes 25 minutes. Also, you don’t have to schedule an appointment, just after creating the account, you can select the option to start the test.

      So, each session must be individual. It is currently not possible to test multiple people, including children, in the same session

  9. Tried using navica app in Spain would not allow login saying it was the wrong login information. Tried on ipad and iphone same results.

  10. Not everyone needs two tests per person. This is ridiculous to make it so expensive and make people order extra tests.

    The country we are going to does not require testing – only full vaccination so I have to order an extra 6 tests even though the 6 in the pack would do fine.

  11. My husband and I will be cruising soon and have purchased the test to do it thru Emed telehealth.

    My husband downloaded the app on his ipad, created an account (added his profile), then added my profile where it says “add a managed profile”.

    Here is the confusing part, as I google different things, I keep seeing that we both have to download and install the Navica app on separate devices, and create separate accounts.

    Can we have one Navica on our device with 2 profiles?… thank you

    • Hi Beverly,

      I just called eMed to confirm and they said that you only need one device (your husband’s iPad) when using a managed profile account–as long as your husband is legally able to manage your health information and agreed to that section in the Navica app’s Managed Profile Agreement. You’ll need to designate which person is taking the test and then each person receives a unique QR code with the results that show up in the app.

      We suggest you confirm this by contacting eMed’s customer support at +1 (866) 955-1173 and having them walk you through all the steps (you can also email them at [email protected] but we recommend calling.)

  12. My husband and are travelling to Mexico in a week. He ordered the kits which we have now. I have a smart phone but he has a flip phone. How can he set up an account?

    • Hi Cathie,

      Flip phones are not supported–only iOS with iOS12+ and Android using 9+ are supported.

      Instead, use your phone (Android or iOS) to create an account and then set up a managed profile for your husband, under your account.

  13. Help please, I just ordered the 6pk test. When inputting names it only ask for three names. I need enough test for 6pp. Can the other 3pp use the test I just ordered? I’m confused

    • HI Kim,

      Each 6 pack is good for up to 3 people since you need to take 2 tests per person (one before leaving and one before coming returning.) So for 6 people, you need 2 6-packs of tests.

    • Hola Eddy,

      Right now eMed is available in the United States only (En este momento, eMed solo está disponible en los Estados Unidos.)

  14. Looks easy enough but I’ll soon be traveling to Italy and purchased the 6 pack with the intention of sharing with my husband.

    I did list him as one of the individuals who will be using the tests but he is unable to create an eMed account without purchasing more tests!

    Is the Navica app all that he will need to test and provide test results? Unclear from above instructions.

    • Hi Cindy,

      We contacted eMed to make sure our information is correct and they let us know that as long as you selected the option that you were ordering the testing kit for “Myself and Others” that you and your husband can use that 6 pack of testing kits. You and your husband need to download and install the Navica app on separate devices, however, and create separate accounts.

      The user profile for eMed is to track the testing kit itself, in case there are any issues with those 6 tests.

      If you have any additional concerns, we suggest you reach out to eMed customer service at +1 (866) 955-1173.

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