Affinity drug testing

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I have entered a probation with monitoring agreement with the board of nursing. I am to have random drug testing for a year including possible hair testing. The board uses Affinity testing. Do they usually do hair tests first thing when you start? I would assume they wouldn’t because obviously I would have had meds/alcohol in my system. Would they require hair testing towards the end to ensure compliance? Not sure how ‘random’ these tests are.

What does color or number mean?

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Every state is different but in MN they assign you a color and you call a number each morning.  There is a recording with the color of the day and if your color is stated then you have to take a urine test that day.  I believe color is based on substance - I.E. pink= alcohol, purple = marijuana, green = opiates, etc.  I could be totally wrong on that but I'm not sure what else it would mean?  

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On 7/28/2022 at 3:43 PM, Scared2020 said:

With monitoring you basically have to get permission to go on vacation or find a lab who will do your testing if your number/color gets called.  

That's not entirely true, but partially true.  It depends on the state.  In my state, you do not have to have any permission to travel anywhere in the United States.  You simply check in that day whereever you are at, and if selected, you go get tested at a facility in your system for whichever one you are using (Affinity, Recovery Trek, etc).  But, there is no excuses that can be given.  For example, if you travel to the middle of Wyoming and you are selected, you better be peeing by close of business and we are expected to know the testing facilities before travel.  In my state, we are allowed 2 weeks per year of "Vacation."  Vacation means, you don't have to check in or test those days, and these absolutely do require permission, but the absolute overwhelming percentage of states do not make you get permission to travel in the United States.  You simply check in wherever you traveled to and test at a site approved by your system.  

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10 hours ago, solarex said:

That's not entirely true, but partially true.  It depends on the state.  In my state, you do not have to have any permission to travel anywhere in the United States.  You simply check in that day whereever you are at, and if selected, you go get tested at a facility in your system for whichever one you are using (Affinity, Recovery Trek, etc).  But, there is no excuses that can be given.  For example, if you travel to the middle of Wyoming and you are selected, you better be peeing by close of business and we are expected to know the testing facilities before travel.  In my state, we are allowed 2 weeks per year of "Vacation."  Vacation means, you don't have to check in or test those days, and these absolutely do require permission, but the absolute overwhelming percentage of states do not make you get permission to travel in the United States.  You simply check in wherever you traveled to and test at a site approved by your system.  

This is how my state is as well! Have you ever taken any "vacation" time? My testing schedule is fairly consistent, and I'm afraid if I took any vacation time, even just for a few days, I'd have to do a bunch of expensive tests when I come back. 

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40 minutes ago, TIMFY said:

This is how my state is as well! Have you ever taken any "vacation" time? My testing schedule is fairly consistent, and I'm afraid if I took any vacation time, even just for a few days, I'd have to do a bunch of expensive tests when I come back. 

I haven't taken vacation time. Two downsides to that. First is the inconvenience of more testing upon return. If I would have been selected to test 2 times in that 2 week period of vacation, it is simply pushed back until I get home PLUS whatever selection I have when back at home, so expect 3 times getting tested, maybe 4 in the first 2 weeks upon returning home. The biggest downside side is.......let's say you take 2 weeks vacation per year in your 5 year program, so that's a total of 10 weeks over your 5 year monitoring program. If the case manager and state board want to be difficult, then you just extended your 5 year monitoring program by 2.5 months. Yes, they can do that if they want to. 

So, it's easy enough for me to just check my phone app wherever I go and test if selected. I ALWYS already have the test site and it's hours down for sure before I travel to ensure no problems. I even call them before I travel to ensure they are still open, not out of business, no remodeling or temporary planned closures, etc. 

I have traveled wast to Colorado and Wyoming 4 times, and when selected, I go early and am there by 0830 and test while everyone is still eating breakfast and I am back to my RV within 1 hour. No big deal. Inconvenience? Sure, a little bit, but no major stressor really.

I wanted to make sure that most nurses should check with their case manager about travel. For some reason or another, many nurses have it in their heads that they have to get permission to travel when in fact, the overwhelming majority do Not have to. They just have to check in and test if selected like they would at home. Nurses need permission if they want to be excluded from check in and testing for a week or two.

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Good point. I’m taking a camping trip to northern Mississippi in November. I guess I can test there if needed. I already paid for the trip. This is such a drag. 

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Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.

In KARE (KY), the agreement stipulates that you must notify your Case Manager 2 weeks prior to travel. It isn’t  worded as “permission” & my Case Manager never treated it as such. 

Per the KARE handbook: “Your Case Manager must be informed of any travel affecting your drug testing obligations (I.e., vacations, etc.) in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to the start of absence from home. You must contact Affinity (via webiste or phone) to obtain information regarding collection sites should you be selected to test while away from home. Regardless of the reason for being away from home, you are still held accountable for meeting all requirements of the random drug screening program, including contacting Affinity on a daily basis”.


In KY, you don’t get “vacation days”. You’re expected to check in daily, including weekends & holidays. Case Managers do not “excuse” you from testing during out-of-town trips. However, I was aware of only 1 instance that someone was actually selected to test while on vacation, and this person vacationed frequently.
The majority of nurses in my Health Professionals group (including myself) were always “randomly selected” to test within a day or 2 of returning from vacation! So we always notified our Case Manager before travel, speculating that perhaps CMs sometimes DID arrange vacation-free testing, if a participant was compliant, but did not want us to be aware (to avoid vacation relapses). Regardless,when making travel plans, after booking a hotel, I would always check the Affinity app & find the testing sites closest to my hotel. I usually scoped everything out a few days or week before traveling, making sure I found sites that best suited my travel plans, in case I was selected.
If traveling outside the US, going on a cruise, etc., KARE CMs look at these on a case-by-case basis. If you’re compliant in the program, you don’t have to wait 5 years for your dream vacation. I’ve known several nurses that had  trips abroad approved & were just subject to additional testing upon return. 
So, definitely a few extra hoops to jump through, but vacationing is certainly possible. I took a couple each year.  When planning your itinerary, just remember to include a some flexibility in the mornings, in case you’re  selected to test. 

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Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.
13 hours ago, solarex said:

I even call them before I travel to ensure they are still open, not out of business, no remodeling or temporary planned closures, etc.

@solarex This is a great point. I always did this, as well, and I’m glad you thought to mention it. In fact, when my primary collection site built a new facility & moved, I was aware because I was in there regularly. However, I didn’t notice that their address listed on the Affinity site wasn’t updated -UNTIL 6 MONTHS LATER! When I finally caught it, I immediately contacted Affinity to let them know. It took another 2 months for it to be updated. (When I contacted them a 2nd time, they said they were waiting on official verification from the office). 
So- yeah. Always call & double-check accuracy. You don’t want to find yourself in a pinch if the info is outdated. 
 

 

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Women's Health, LTC.
On 7/27/2022 at 4:57 PM, GumboRN said:

So with the daily check in, are we not allowed a vacation? 

I just let them know I will be out of town. I’m still responsible for finding a lab if picked and I have to check in online. I was told that I only need “permission “ to go abroad and then it would be an interruption in the program.

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9 hours ago, KyBeagle said:

In KARE (KY), the agreement stipulates that you must notify your Case Manager 2 weeks prior to travel. It isn’t  worded as “permission” & my Case Manager never treated it as such. 

Per the KARE handbook: “Your Case Manager must be informed of any travel affecting your drug testing obligations (I.e., vacations, etc.) in writing at least two (2) weeks prior to the start of absence from home. You must contact Affinity (via webiste or phone) to obtain information regarding collection sites should you be selected to test while away from home. Regardless of the reason for being away from home, you are still held accountable for meeting all requirements of the random drug screening program, including contacting Affinity on a daily basis”.


In KY, you don’t get “vacation days”. You’re expected to check in daily, including weekends & holidays. Case Managers do not “excuse” you from testing during out-of-town trips. However, I was aware of only 1 instance that someone was actually selected to test while on vacation, and this person vacationed frequently.
The majority of nurses in my Health Professionals group (including myself) were always “randomly selected” to test within a day or 2 of returning from vacation! So we always notified our Case Manager before travel, speculating that perhaps CMs sometimes DID arrange vacation-free testing, if a participant was compliant, but did not want us to be aware (to avoid vacation relapses). Regardless,when making travel plans, after booking a hotel, I would always check the Affinity app & find the testing sites closest to my hotel. I usually scoped everything out a few days or week before traveling, making sure I found sites that best suited my travel plans, in case I was selected.
If traveling outside the US, going on a cruise, etc., KARE CMs look at these on a case-by-case basis. If you’re compliant in the program, you don’t have to wait 5 years for your dream vacation. I’ve known several nurses that had  trips abroad approved & were just subject to additional testing upon return. 
So, definitely a few extra hoops to jump through, but vacationing is certainly possible. I took a couple each year.  When planning your itinerary, just remember to include a some flexibility in the mornings, in case you’re  selected to test. 

hmmm this kind of sounds like you don't have to tell them as long as you're still planning on checking in/testing? "travel affecting drug testing obligations"

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Specializes in ED RN and Case Manager.

You’re correct, it does. They did tell me in my first meeting, when I signed the agreement, to notify them when going out of town. Based on my experience with KARE, if I had been out of town & provided a sample, nothing would have come of it. We definitely weren’t prisoners.   They understand that things come up daily & a 2 week notification wouldn’t be feasible. Honestly, I think the inclusion is more of a protection for the program. If something came up, couldn’t find a place to test, didn’t get the test, etc., then liability would be on the Participant, not the Program, base on the signed Agreement. 

However, I DID always notify them, simply based on the trends observed within my HP group. Not selected to test DURING vacations but always a day or 2 upon return, LOL! If there was the slightest chance they were pausing testing during the dates I provided them, I was taking advantage of that. Of course, I still worried about being selected & make alternative plans in case I was. But, thankfully, it never happened. 

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Totally depends on your state.  Somebody wrote about Kentucky and "traveling affecting drug test obligations," is something you have to tell them about before hand.  The key words here are........"affecting drug test obligations."  I'm not in Kentucky, but if my travel DOES NOT affect my ability to check in each morning and test somewhere, then.......my travel has ZERO bearing on drug test obligations, and I am still not seeing the need to notify someone about traveling based on that language.  Again, it says, "AFFECTING" drug test obligation.  If my travel has zero affect on my ability to call in and test wherever I am traveling, then I personally wouldn't notify anyone.  Just my opinion.   My state is spot on with this issue and keeps it simple.

Their policy pretty much is....we don't care where you go in the Continental 48 States because it does not matter because the labs in which the program is affilated it are located all over the place, and you can check in by your phone app or calling in each morning.  It's easy and you are expected to do this whether you are in your hometown, 3 towns over, or 3 states over, so they don't want you to bother them if you are traveling away from home.  Here are the exceptions......

2 weeks per year of "vacation" where you are exempt from checking in and testing, but....you are on a testing schedule, so the 2 weeks you miss are tests you will make up during the 2-3 weeks you get back, and you extend your time in the monitoring program.  It's a 5 year program in my state, so if I take 10 weeks of vacation over these 5 years (2 weeks per year) then my monitoring program just became 5 years and 2.5 months added to it.

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