Being Current: 25 Years in the Making—Lessons Learned About Why Drug Testing Is So Valuable: When Hell Freezes Over
By Bill Current, President & Founder
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Author’s Note: I founded the Current Consulting Group (CCG) in September of 1998, nearly 25 years ago. We will celebrate our 25th anniversary each month with articles, webinars, and discounts on CCG services. Check our website and LinkedIn page for updates. Each of our monthly newsletters will feature a special article entitled “Being Current: 25 Years in the Making” on some of the most important things I’ve learned about drug testing and about being in business since I started the #1 consulting firm in the industry two-and-a-half decades ago.
Lesson #9: When Hell Freezes Over—DOT and Oral Fluid Testing
There’s an old saying when something is so unlikely to occur that it will only happen when “hell freezes over.” Well, hell must be frozen solid today because something many people in the drug testing industry, especially the “old-timers,” never thought would happen, happened.
On May 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) published its final guidelines for oral fluid drug testing. As soon as two laboratories become certified by the federal government to conduct oral fluid testing, DOT-covered employers will be able to take advantage of the unique attributes of oral fluid testing.
As someone who has been in the drug testing industry for 30-something years and served as a consultant to many companies that worked diligently to see this day come, I salute DOT for making this historic move. In particular, Patrice Kelly deserves a big high-five from the industry for her determined commitment to making the addition of oral fluid testing a reality.
Now on loan to NDASA, Patrice was the longest-serving director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC) at DOT. She has an incredible resume, a vast knowledge of all things drug testing, and has played a role in a number of big developments at DOT and beyond. I say beyond because nothing happens in a vacuum at the federal government. Multiple agencies are typically involved in big decisions like allowing oral fluid testing by DOT. You have to know how to work the system, have the trust and confidence of your peers throughout the government, and really know what you’re talking about. Patrice fits that bill.
At some point along the way, Patrice, who is a Georgetown educated lawyer, became convinced that oral fluid testing was a legitimate alternative to urine testing. In fact, it would probably be more accurate to say she became satisfied with oral fluid’s scientific, legal, and practical qualifications, at which point she became an important advocate behind the scenes. She worked with a lot of other dedicated people at DOT and elsewhere within the federal government and the private sector to make these new guidelines possible.
The Current Consulting Group (CCG), now in its 25th year, conducts an annual survey of the drug testing industry. This year’s survey will be unveiled in a general session at the NDASA conference on May 24th in Bellevue, Washington. On page 142 of the electronic 227-page document outlining the new DOT oral fluid guidelines,[i] you’ll find a reference to CCG’s survey in the footnotes, our small contribution to history. Here is what it references:
“In 2022, 38% of respondents to a drug testing industry survey reported that their company already offered oral fluid testing. An additional 48% expected that their company would offer oral fluid testing after SAMHSA and DOT establish guidelines. Some of the respondents may not be involved in DOT regulated testing, but the results demonstrate industry interest in adopting oral fluid testing.”[ii]
Current Consulting Group has been working on the oral fluid issue for nearly 25 years through our annual industry surveys and while consulting with many of the leading providers of drug testing, and we have witnessed the slow but steady, and more recently dramatic rise of oral fluid testing. Now that DOT’s final guidelines are public and as our 2022 survey indicated, expect to see even more providers offering oral fluid testing and more employers interested in using it. Much of that is thanks to a whole lot of people in the industry who never gave up hope that DOT would make this move, to a group of dedicated federal employees who faithfully worked past every challenge, and to Patrice Kelly in particular who may be reluctant to take a high five but deserves one.
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[i] Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs: Addition of Oral Fluid Specimen Testing for Drugs. Federal Register. May 2, 2023. file:///C:/Users/bcurr/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/INetCache/Content.Outlook/DW9BJ2FJ/2023-08041.pdf
[ii] Ibid.
