Hair testing provides up to a 90-day detection of repetitive drug use, which can act as a powerful drug use deterrent and often yields higher positivity compared to other testing methods. Collections are observed, making them nearly impossible to adulterate.

Quest Diagnostics Employer Solutions runs a dedicated hair testing laboratory with proven technology staffed by a team of experts. Our national and international collection site network delivers a convenient, consistent and professional collection experience. Only Quest Diagnostics offers hair, urine, oral fluid and instant testing, allowing you to create a customized, multi-specimen testing program, all though a single, convenient provider.

We recently implemented two hair testing kit enhancements. First, our envelope color has changed from white to bright yellow. We made this change to ensure that these envelopes are as visible as possible and that they are easy for our employees to differentiate from other packaging materials at the laboratory. The second improvement that you will notice on the new kits is the addition of an RFID (radio-frequency identification) tag. This tag gives us an increased level of control and helps to ensure the safe handling of your specimens. Our goal, as always, is to ensure a smooth and error-free process once we receive your hair testing specimens.

For more information about hair testing, visit our website.

Three months after launching the industry’s newest oral fluid drug testing system, we are pleased to announce the positive feedback that Oral-Eze^® is delighting clients, collectors and donors alike. Feedback from Oral-Eze^® users is that it helps to resolve a number of the concerns encountered using other oral fluid drug testing systems on the market.

With some systems, collectors have no way of knowing if a sufficient quantity of oral fluid is collected. All too often, this results in an inadequate specimen that has to be recollected. With its sample adequacy window, Oral-Eze^® resolves this problem. When window turns blue, typically within three to five minutes, enough oral fluid has been collected for testing. In the rare event that donor dry mouth prevents the window from turning blue, a collector can make an informed decision, as to whether sample should be sent to the lab or if an alternate collection should be performed. Whether the window turns blue, or a maximum collection time of 10 minutes elapses, Oral-Eze^® provides an informed collection. And while 10 minutes may seem like a long collection time, consider how little oral fluid that same donor would have provided on a different device that was only in the mouth for two, three or five minutes.

Oral-Eze^® also solves a primary concern presented by older devices which are treated with common salts and other substances designed to artificially “enhance” specimen collection. The Oral-Eze^® collection pad is not chemically treated and has no unpleasant salty or citric taste. Numerous collectors have reported that this is a significant enhancement for their donors who often complained about the “bad taste” of some other devices.

As outlined in our video on www.Oral-Eze.com, the chain of custody seals and paperwork are nearly identical to other drug tests. Experienced collectors appreciate the fact that we mirror their existing workflow, while new collectors indicate that the instructions that we provide are thorough, detailed and easy to understand.

To date, more than 300 customers have made the transition to Oral-Eze^® and as a result our laboratory is processing thousands of specimens each week. We encourage you to make the switch today, and to start enjoying the functional and technological benefits of the Oral-Eze^® oral fluid drug testing device.

If you have any questions or to get started with Oral-Eze^®, please contact our National Customer Support Center at (800) 877-7484.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) celebrated 20 years of the statutory authority to conduct drug and alcohol testing for workers entrusted with the safe operation of our nation’s transportation system. The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act, signed into law on October 28, 1991, was enacted to reduce the abuse of alcohol and illegal use of drugs by employees such as pilots, airline mechanics, railroad engineers, truck drivers, bus drivers and subway operators. 

Since the law was implemented, illegal drug use among transportation workers has dropped 50 percent, while the risk of fatal accidents caused by alcohol use by truck and bus drivers has dropped 23 percent. 

For more information about the DOT and drug testing laws, please visit their website.

More than half of employers (57 percent) conduct drug tests on all job candidates, while only 29 percent do not conduct drug tests on any job candidates, according to a poll released September 7, 2011 by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in collaboration with and commissioned by the Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA).

The Drug Testing Efficacy study examined the correlation between drug testing programs and areas such as productivity, absenteeism, workers’ compensation incidence rates and turnover rates in employee populations.

For the key findings and the full study, click here. To calculate your company’s drug testing return on investment, visit the Quest Diagnostics ROI Calculator.

The Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ is regarded as the industry standard for measuring and reporting workforce drug use. It is published as a public service for government, media and industry and has been considered a benchmark for national trends since its inception in 1988.

American workers continue to use prescription opiates at relatively high levels

According to most recent Drug Testing Index data which analyzed urine drug tests in the first half of 2011, only marijuana, at 2.0%, holds a higher positivity rate than hydrocodone (1.3%) and oxycodone (1.1%).

“The use and misuse of prescription opiates continue to capture national attention,” said Dr. Barry Sample, Quest Diagnostics Director of Science and Technology for Employer Solutions. “The findings of this study reinforce the need for businesses to develop and communicate clear policies around both the medical and non-medical use of these drugs, especially for their safety-sensitive workers.”

Data illustrates that random drug testing and post-accident testing detected dramatically more positives for prescription opiates than pre-employment drug testing from January 2011 through June 2011 in theU.S.general workforce. Pre-employment screening revealed a 0.85% positivity rate for hydrocodone and a 0.65% positivity rate for oxycodones. However, random drug test positivity was nearly double, at 1.6% and 1.2%, respectively. Post-accident testing for hydrocodone and oxycodones continue to reveal dramatically higher rates of positivity at 3.7% and 1.8%, respectively.

To review the Drug Testing Index™ published on October 11, please click here.

We recently produced a new video highlighting information reported by our most recent Drug Testing Index^TM (DTI). The September, 2011 DTI release includes the first state-by-state analysis of methamphetamine positives and shows trends of methamphetamine use moving eastward across the United States.

The video shines a spotlight on methamphetamine abuse and its highly addictive nature; DTI data; and expertise from Dr. Barry Sample, Quest Diagnostics Director of Science and Technology, and Dr. Steven Shoptaw, professor and third-party clinical researcher.

In another storyline, we learn that thousands of children enter the foster care system because of a parent struggling with methamphetamine use and addiction and we follow a family that adopted three brothers who were lost their mother to drug addiction.

Click here to view this powerful, informational video.

To help ensure the integrity of urine drug tests, it’s important to perform specimen validity testing.

Adulterants are foreign substances either ingested or added directly to a urine specimen to prevent the detection of drug use. Donors sometimes attempt to add adulterants, ranging from everyday household items to specific chemical additives, to tamper with the results. Sometimes, also promoted as “cleansing agents,” adulterants are easily obtained through the Internet or common retail sources.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, offers a solution for eliminating drugs and the substances that alter test results from the workplace with TestSure.

TestSure screens the specimen for a variety of adulterant compounds with state-of-the-art secondary testing methods. This additional safeguard increases the level of confidence in your workplace drug testing program.

For more information on specimen validity testing, contact your Quest Diagnostics sales representative today, or contact our National Customer Support Center at 800-877-7484.