{mosimage}RM Global Health/ ExamOne372, a Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary
Issue 47 – May 2007
More States Allowing Oral Fluid Drug Testing
Oklahoma recently became the latest state to be removed from a shrinking list of states that prohibit oral fluid drug testing in the workplace. Employers in the state may now conduct oral fluid drug testing.
This means that employers with facilities in Oklahoma have greater flexibility in determining what drug testing method will help them best achieve their drug-free workplace objectives and get the most out of drug testing. Oral fluid testing, which some consider to be more donor-friendly during the collection process, has proven to be a reliable and accurate means of screening job applicants and workers for drugs of abuse. However, some restrictions may still apply to oral fluid testing in Oklahoma and in other states.
Oral fluid testing offers an attractive option to employers that have found urine collections to be difficult to arrange or cost prohibitive. Employers with rural or remote worksites may find oral fluid testing easier to administer than traditional lab-based urine testing. Though relatively new compared with urine testing, oral fluid testing is growing in popularity throughout the country. Now only Hawaii, Maine and Puerto Rico prohibit oral fluid workplace drug testing altogether, and Montana's law would appear to prohibit its use for testing workers in safety-sensitive positions.
It is important to note that testing facilities that conduct saliva testing are required to meet stringent guidelines from the Department of Health. Such facilities should be certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration or the College of American Pathologists' Forensic Urine Drug Testing division, or be licensed by a state acceptable to the Department of Health. All of the Quest Diagnostics forensic laboratories meet these requirements.
For more information about workplace oral fluid testing click here, visit www.employersolutions.com or call 800-877-7484.
