By Bill Current, President & Founder
Author’s Note: I founded the Current Consulting Group (CCG) in 1998, nearly 25 years ago. In the months leading up to our 25th anniversary CCG will produce articles, webinars, and offer discounts on CCG services. Check our website and LinkedIn page for special updates and offerings. Each of our monthly newsletters will feature a special article entitled “Being Current: 25 Years in the Making” on some of the most important lessons I’ve learned and people I’ve met since I started CCG, the #1 consulting firm in the industry, two-and-a-half decades ago.
Lesson #4: Getting It Right
What makes a drug test a good drug test? Good question. Is it a hassle-free experience? An easy collection? An immediate result or fast turnaround? Getting a good price? Staying out of court? All of those things are important, but I suggest the number one priority should be an accurate result. In the end, an accurate result, one in which an employer has confidence, makes it possible to make legally defensible employment decisions.
Early in my career, during the infancy of the drug testing industry, I was fortunate enough to meet several people who helped me understand the importance of getting it right. People like Donna Smith, Mike Walsh, and Dennis Bennet, among others, were advocates for doing things the right way or not at all.
In those early days, the military, which played a big role in establishing standards for drug and alcohol testing, lived by this simple motto: “If in doubt, throw it out.” Or, in other words, a test result that cannot be relied on as accurate is not worthy of defending.
Of course, getting it right involves the entire process that leads up to an accurate result, including being able to justify who will be subject to testing, which specimens will be tested and for which drugs, how that specimen will be collected, analyzed, confirmed, and verified, and how it will be reported.
The challenge remains the same today, accuracy must be the priority. Unfortunately, not all drug testing methods are equal when it comes to producing a legally defensible result. For workplace drug testing, a urine test through a SAMHSA-certified laboratory has been the gold standard for three decades. In October of 2019, SAMHSA issued final guidelines for lab-based oral fluid testing and in February 2022, DOT issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for lab-based oral fluid testing. These procedures, when followed, increase the legal defensibility of a company’s drug testing program dramatically. Using a drug testing method that cannot conform to these federally approved standards is to invite litigation.
Additionally, there are a number of FDA-cleared rapid-result oral fluid and urine devices. These products and services are more likely to produce legally defensible results than a non-FDA-cleared device or process.
When it comes to drug testing, getting it right, ending up with an accurate, legally defensible result should be every employer’s number one priority.
