Category Archives: Medicine

Check Out the Best Hair Follicle Drug Test

Things to Know About Drug Testing

C:\Users\stefa\Downloads\PICTURES\clearinghouse_1.jpg

We all know that drug addiction can be a severe problem, especially within your business premises. At the same time, a global problem affects every single country in the world.

Even though governments are trying to reduce the chances and prevent damage, people are still consuming illegal substances that can affect their perspectives and ability to work.

Screening is necessary for most business owners who want to find a professional employee without harmful history that can affect your business. The best way to learn everything about DOT policies is by checking here for more information. 

Simultaneously, it would be best to minimize the impact of substance abuse by rejecting candidates that failed to test.

A Brief History of Drug Screening

Everything started back in the sixties when the Department of Defense started a large-scale screening to deal with military personnel that consumed heroin and marijuana in Vietnam. 

Their efforts created and developed a urinalysis as the most effective way to conduct a screening without invasive methods. At the same time, they have established cut-off levels of drug traces within your body. 

As a result, if they find that traces of drugs within your body are above the established levels, it means that you have failed it. On the other hand, if you have below the threshold, you have passed it.

In the next years, testing entered other industries, which is why workplace screenings in forms of post-accident and random tests became necessary. Everything changed after President Ronald Reagan’s directive on drug-free workplaces and drug abuse in general.

Therefore, in the 80s, the FBI, the criminal justice system, and other local, state, and federal agencies started implementing drug screening into their operations and investigations.

Compared with federal screening, you should know that the criminal justice system has not established cut-off levels, which is why the programs required the development of protocols and policies that will allow everyone to handle the regulations.

Compared with military screening that wanted to get rid of addicts and abusers within the military, the court-ordered screenings became commonplaces as well due to a wide array of reasons such as:

  • It was the simplest way to monitor the treatment progress as well as compliance with particular court conditions.
  • It was used to determine the compliance of the defendant with probation or pretrial release.
  • Finally, it was used for prosecution purposes

Who Performs Drug Testing?

We have mentioned above that the Federal workplace requires both pre-employment and random screenings at least once a year. Apart from these regulations, you should know that private companies can also conduct drug testing, but they need to comply with city codes and state laws.

For instance, transportation companies have to comply with the Department of Transportation regulations and rules, which is essential.

Remember that some organizations that use the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) tend to conduct both post-accident and random screening.

You should know that the MRO (Medical Review Officer) has a license and relevant medical training to handle lab results and use them to determine the number of drugs. 

Most business people and owners have seen testing as an effective way to boost overall productivity and worker performance. It means that you can find someone who can help you boost your public image. 

At the same time, employing someone with drug abuse issues can reduce employee morale and cause other work and safety-related issues. Therefore, as a private company, you can request a drug screening in these situations:

  • Pre-Employment – You should remember that most companies would conduct a screening of applicants as a form of determining the best candidate for a particular position. You should know that hair follicle drug test is one of the most popular and effective options to detect long-term abuse. 
  • Random – Keep in mind that random tests tend to come without prior notice. They can happen at least once a year with an idea to discourage employees from consuming illegal substances that can affect their productivity. If someone fails the test, the next step is to consider penalties you should apply, such as firing or going to the disciplinary committee. However, in some states, you cannot conduct a screening without prior notice, which means that you need to create a policy that will help you protect yourself against the invasion of privacy and other potential issues that may happen. 
  • Reasonable Suspicion – If an employee shows unusual signs that he/she is not fit for duty, such as low performance, frequent absence, a dispute with an employer and co-workers, you can conduct a test that will determine the reasons for that particular behavior.
  • Post-Accident – After an accident, you can ask test individuals involved based on the fear that the problem happened due to impairment. However, you will have a specific window in which you need to act.
  • Post-Treatment – Finally, if you placed an employee in drug rehab with an idea to treat him/her before returning to the position, you can subject him/her to drug screening to make sure that everything is as straightforward as possible.

Is Workplace Drug Testing Effective?

C:\Users\stefa\Downloads\PICTURES\drug-testing.jpg

We can easily differentiate why you should implement regular screening significantly since it will benefit your workplace. Remember that users avoid applying for jobs in companies that have drug-free policies.

At the same time, random screening is the easiest way to prevent others from consuming anything illegal, which can affect their productivity. 

We recommend you to visit this website: https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/workplace/MRO_Manual_2010_100908.pdf to learn more about medical review officers. 

You can find a debate online between people that are against testing in general. However, you should know that this particular process comes with a wide array of legal implications, something you need to talk about with your lawyer beforehand.

Generally, you will not screen only one person because that can lead to other legal implications. At the same time, if you get federal funds for testing, then you should implement a policy and show it to everyone who works for you.

That way, you can protect yourself against potential issues that may happen.