Pubdate: Sat, 12 May 2007 Source: West Hawaii Today (HI) Copyright: 2007 West Hawaii Today Contact: http://westhawaiitoday.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644 Author: Lisa Huynh Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test) TAKING THE TEST New Contracts Raise Concerns Over Employee Drug Testing, But Testers Remain Confident He collects samples for drug and alcohol testing one at a time to help prevent mistakes. The urine samples never leave his sight or that of the person being tested. Both sign and initial all documents, which are marked by unique 7-digit identification numbers and corresponding bar codes. The labels marking the vials also come from the same form with the same identification numbers and bar codes. The bathroom in which the employee gives a sample is completely stripped. A blue dye placed in the toilet water prevents people from adding water to the sample. The vials detect compromising substances and temperature, all to ensure the substance in the vial is urine. Easy-to-read lines indicate positive and negative results outside of the vial. The collection process is straightforward, routine and mostly mistake proof. Bruce Makarewicz, Advanced Testing Services owner, spends all day in this process. He tests potential employees and employees of private companies, state and federal agencies. When needed, he travels on site to test employees. He recently collected on-site samples for a Kohala Coast resort. He's been in the business for 15 years. Makarewicz said he has heard several misconceptions about drug testing since the state and unions ratified contracts approving random drug testing. United Public Workers in ratifying its contracts with the state agreed to implement a random drug and alcohol testing program for close to 12,000 employees in the bargaining unit, including custodians, public hospital workers, food service employees and other workers for the state and counties. Hawaii State Teachers Association also ratified contracts that called for random drug testing. For the state and private employees, results are obtained immediately. Samples for federal employees are sent directly to a lab. Five commonly tested substances are cocaine, cannabinoids (marijuana), amphetamines (meth), opiates and phencycldine (or PCP). No tests results are kept in Makarewicz's office. They are accessed through a secure server. If negative results are found, the process ends there. If positive, samples are shipped to a certified medical lab for further testing. A medical review officer oversees the process, and if needed, contacts the employee to provide more information because prescriptions may explain the presence of some substances. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a medical review officer is a licensed physician who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program, and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results. MROs are expected to perform their duties objectively and with accuracy. One of the common concerns about drug testing is the accuracy of the tests, and the possibility of false positives or negatives, said Makarewicz. He said false positives may have happened years ago when drug testing first started but technology has come a long way in the past 15 to 20 years. Today, every substance has a unique fingerprint, he said. False negatives are more likely than false positives, he added. The testing materials used by Makarewicz, SPLIT-SPECIMEN Cups manufactured for Noble Medical Inc., produce the same testing results as laboratories 98 to 99 percent of the time for the five federally tested drugs, according to clinical studies of the product. While a person may test positive for a substance, that sample must be sent to a lab in order to pinpoint the level of substance and whether that level exceeds thresholds established by the federal or state government, said Makarewicz. "In the case of litigation, if it finally gets to that, a second vial or specimen for all positives is kept at the lab for a year," said Makarewicz. There is whole trail of paperwork to document the collection and testing process. Some have voiced concerns about the integrity of the random drug testing selection process. Makarewicz said the meaning of "random" is scientific. Typically, a third-party is assigned to handle this process. In the state's case, this person could possibly be a union representative. That person is given a list of employees by identification, and is responsible for ensuring those selected will be present for testing. The process for collecting samples isn't foolproof. Collectors are certified by two organizations, including Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association, said Makarewicz. But if mistakes are made in the collection process, the sample is thrown out and the process starts all over again. Mistakes are not typically made once samples reach the laboratory because everything is tracked by bar codes, he said. Also, there are methods to fool the tests, said Makarewicz. "But a program is only as good as the person who administers it," he said. One problem is the difficulty of detecting drugs that are flushed out of the body in a few days rather than a few weeks. The rate at which this occurs varies from person to person, depending upon several factors including metabolism. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman