SCARBOROUGH — Scarborough-based nonprofit clinical laboratory NorDx has announced a new testing program for patients in Maine and Carroll County, New Hampshire that expands the availability of high-end COVID-19 testing.

The new program, which started on Oct. 26, makes the polymerase chain reaction test available to patients without a doctor’s referral, the lab said in a release. Test results are made available in 72 hours or less and patients can be notified by email.

“NorDx is very pleased to be able to offer these services to our friends and citizens in the community,” said NorDx president Stan Schofield. “We use the most sophisticated method for testing, and we hope this will lead to still more screening at a time when COVID-19 is on the rise with the cooler weather of the fall and winter.”

Anyone who wants a test may visit www.nordx.org, complete an online request form and schedule an appointment for collection at locations across southern and central Maine as well as Carroll County. The COVID-19 test costs $105, but NorDx is unable to directly bill insurers.

“Access to these results can play an important role in helping to slow the spread of the disease, providing patients with one more option to consider if they have symptoms or think they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus,” said Robert Carlson,M.D., NorDx laboratory director.