NCJ Number
161691
Journal
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: (October- December 1990) Pages: 435-445
Date Published
1990
Length
11 pages
Annotation
In an effort to balance the need for accuracy of the process with the need to preserve the rights and dignity of the employee being tested for the use of illicit drugs, the United States Department of Transportation relies on a policy that places a physician, who is called a medical review officer (MRO), between the drug-testing laboratory and the employer.
Abstract
The MRO must be a licensed physician who has knowledge of drug disorders and appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate positive test results. The Federal regulations prescribe the specifics of how urine specimens are to be collected, how to inform the specimen donor of the process involved, and the certification of laboratories by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. These guidelines are an effort to ensure that each collection site and each laboratory testing the urine of employees adheres to certain basic standards of quality control. The process and the role of the MRO are also designed to avoid wrongly accusing an employee of illicit drug use. Figure, notes, and 12 references (Author abstract modified)