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Selecting the Optimal Drug Testing Provider

by Nicole Jupe on January 27, 2012

Comprehensive employee screening programs have dozens of moving parts that you need to manage. Your drug testing provider should be a resource that makes it easier for you to administer the process. But, not all providers do this. So how do you select the right drug testing company?

Start by identifying your objectives regarding who, why and how to drug test. Your drug testing policy should serve as a roadmap. These fundamental considerations should help you to create list of criteria. Other factors such as result accuracy, collection site convenience, turnaround times results reporting and customer service should factor into your final decision.

Choose a provider with drug testing expertise and the ability to answer your technical, legal and logistical questions. Your provider should have proven experience in drug testing with options for both laboratory-based and instant products. In addition, your provider should offer Medical Review Officer (MRO) services to confirm results, and be compliant with federal and state requirements.

After you compare the science, technology and service of potential drug testing providers, take an additional moment to evaluate its personnel. Are they accessible? Do they respond quickly to problems and work to resolve them? Will they go above and beyond and always work to do what is right on your behalf?  Do they measure their success based upon your success?

All else being equal, it’s a company’s people that can become the differentiator between a successful program that runs effortlessly and one that is just average.

 Be certain that you select a provider that is committed to being there when you need them.

Prescription Drug Deaths Triple in Decade

by Nicole Jupe on November 21, 2011

Abuse of prescription pain medications kill 15,000 people in the United Statesannually, according to a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “We’re in the midst of an epidemic,” says CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden.

Deaths due to prescription painkiller overdoses now exceed the number of heroin and cocaine overdose deaths combined and have tripled since 1999. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) describes deaths resulting from prescription drug painkillers overdoses as “our nation’s largest drug problem.”

According to recent data, 1 in 20 or 12 million Americans age 12 and older has misused prescription painkillers like oxycodone (e.g. Oxycontin®), methadone or hydrocodone (e.g. Vicodin®) and middle-aged adults have the highest overdose rates.

Health officials say that enough prescription painkillers were prescribed last year to medicate every adult every four hours for an entire month, and this type of drug abuse is costing insurance companies up to $72.5 million each year. Just a few months ago, the CDC reported that opioid pain medication abuse accounts for the most common poisonings treated in emergency departments and nearly 1 million people in the United States are currently addicted to some type of opiates.

Many are working to raise awareness, promote monitoring programs, track prescriptions and advocate for drug testing. For the complete CDC study, click here

CCF Deadline is November 30, 2011

November 1, 2011 Uncategorized

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is allowing the use of the 2000 Federal Custody and Control Form (CCF) through November 30, 2011 for federal workplace drug testing specimens. Both the 2010 and 2000 versions of the Federal CCF are acceptable during this time for Federal agency employee specimens. Beginning December 1, [...]

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National Drug Facts Week

October 31, 2011 Uncategorized

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is promoting National Drug Facts Week, a health observance week for teens that aims to shatter the myths about drugs and drug abuse. This year the cause is honored on October 31 through November 6 with contests, community-based events and online activities. NIDA encourages you to tweet, blog, or [...]

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DTI in USA Today

October 28, 2011 Uncategorized

The October 27 issue of USA Today featured the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) methamphetamine data in its USA Today Snapshot® for the Money section. The Snapshot highlighted the meth test positives percentage by state greater than the national average, showing the top five for abuse include: Hawaii– 410% Arkansas– 280% Oklahoma– 240% Nevada– [...]

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Human Resources Executive magazine puts a spotlight on methamphetamines

October 27, 2011 Uncategorized

Human Resources Executive calls attention to the use of methamphetamines remaining steady as other drug test positives have declined. Methamphetamine use has remained at 0.10 percent for the past two years. The October 16th article also examines the geographic differences illustrating that the western United States has a much higher instance of drug use than [...]

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Online Scheduling in Real-time

October 20, 2011 Uncategorized

Quest Diagnostics provides a network of more than 2,000 Patient Service Centers (PSC) across theUnited States. Our Online Scheduler is a convenient tool with an easy to use interface for real-time appointment scheduling at any of our locations. We enhanced our Online Scheduler to further simplify the appointment process. When scheduling an appointment, you can: [...]

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