Do employers conduct their own drug testing or is it out sourced?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Simple question, does your employer drug screen you or is it an outside company such as quest? Also, is it the same day as the request for specimen or do collection procedures just vary wildly per state/jurisdiction? Do fellow employee's have access to these specimens?!

I'm considering the medical field and wondered if an angry fellow employee or supervisor could ruin my / your life!

"Some-one-I-know" takes meds for bi-polar/ severe depression, can "His" future medical employer find out and discriminate against him

Next thing ya know insurance companies will be buying test results to analyze your genes to drop your policy....

thank you for reading my crazy rant. Resources? Links?

perfecthairforever in central florida

november17, ASN, RN

1 Article; 980 Posts

Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.

When I got hired they did the test right there in the lab at the building where I was doing my physical. I peed in a cup, and they literally stuck my sample in the machine right in front of me as soon as I handed it to them. I thought it was kind of cool, I had never seen a urinalysis machine before. Anyways, they had the results in a very short period of time (within 15 minutes). Then again, I work for a pretty large healthcare "group"/hospital so they have all sorts of resources available. I'd assume if you worked for a nursing home they'd probably outsource it. It depends on where you work, I guess. My advice is to don't do drugs. They don't test for SSRI's/antidepressants, if that is what you are worried about (trust me, I see the results of toxicology tests often enough and I know what is being tested for when they do samples).

Also, if fellow employees/supervisors access your medical records and discriminate against you somehow based on them, you're perfectly within your rights to sue. That would be a HUGE mistake for a boss/coworker to make (million dollar lawsuits/dings from the state).

thanks november I think all places should do that. After a negative they should flush it in front of you and if positive they should keep it obviously.

I wonder how prevelant hair follicle testing has and will become? Has anyone experienced an accident on the job and had to be tested for illegal drugs or an infectious disease? If so what was that experience like?

puggy232

72 Posts

I tested with the occupational health nurse right after filling out a form about what meds I was taking and health conditions I had-if you disclose and have scripts you shouldn't have a problem.

suzanne4, RN

26,410 Posts

A urine drug test is only for a handful of substances, it does not check to see every medication that one is testing for.

And any reference lab that is doing testing no longer asks for the meds that a person is taking. If and only if, you come up positive for something that is checked for, that is when you would be required to submit proof of having a legal prescription for it.

What you discuss with your employer about your meds or medical history is your business; but it has nothing to do with a urine drug screen. These tests are looking for marijuana, cocaine, benzos, etc.

RXtech

104 Posts

Our hospital does the basic pre-employment screens themselves, in the hospital lab. Mine came up positive for amphetamines because I was taking a lot of cold medicine that week, so they sent me to a big lab that did a more specialized test.

They really just test for illicit drugs. Those tests are expensive, so they aren't going to test just to see what kind of antidepressants (or whatever) you're taking.

I'm happy to here these positive responses, my wife is also entering the medical field by way of pharmacy and I wondered If her xanex script would cause a problem, guess not.

november17, ASN, RN

1 Article; 980 Posts

Specializes in Ortho, Case Management, blabla.
I'm happy to here these positive responses, my wife is also entering the medical field by way of pharmacy and I wondered If her xanex script would cause a problem, guess not.

Well xanax is a benzo (not an antidepressant, quite the opposite - anti-anxiety) so it would show up, but if she has a legitimate signed prescription/documentation she can provide as proof then it would not be a problem with the occupational health people.

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