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june 2023
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Inside the June Issue |
Why Oral Fluid?
Detect Recent Drug Use
BY BILL CURRENT
Oral fluid drug testing in the workplace is on the rise. A 2021 survey of drug testing providers revealed a dramatic increase in the percentage who now say they offer oral fluid testing, from just 17 percent in 2019 to 45 percent in 2020 and 63 percent in 2021. Meanwhile, a 2021 survey of employers found that 43 percent cited “recent-use detection” as a key reason for their interest in oral fluid testing.
Oral fluid is legal in nearly all circumstances. This change in acceptance of an alternative to traditional lab-based urine testing likely has a lot to do with recent developments within the federal government. In 2022 the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for labbased oral fluid testing.
Though some probably doubted DOT would ever make such a move, the NRPM had been anticipated since the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued final Oral Fluid Mandatory Guidelines (OFMG) in October 2019 to give federal agencies the option of oral fluid testing in addition to lab-based urine testing.
The new guidelines have a direct impact
on many state drug testing laws.
Prior to SAMHSA’s announcement, labbased
oral fluid testing was already permitted
in 47 states with Vermont, Maine
and Hawaii being the only exceptions. Yet
other states, especially those with voluntary
drug testing laws such as Tennessee
or industry-specific laws like Illinois simply
punted on the issue of how to conduct
drug testing and deferred to SAMHSA’s
guidelines or the DOT regulations as
found in 49 CFR Part 40.
The DOT’s NPRM will likely have the
greatest impact on the availability of labbased
oral fluid testing. In a 2020 survey of providers, 60 percent said they “will offer
lab-based oral fluid drug testing when
DOT adopts oral fluid guidelines;” only
9.5 percent said they would not, while 19
percent were undecided.
Benefits of Oral Fluid Testing
While the legality of oral fluid testing is
certainly important, if it didn’t solve
problems employers experience with
urine testing it would not be growing in
popularity. When SAMHSA issued its
OFMG, it listed several reasons why the
agency decided to endorse an alternative
testing method after more than 30 years
of only allowing lab-based urine testing.
The reasons correlate directly to problems
some employers experience with
urine testing and extend beyond the
SAMHSA/DOT sphere. For instance:
• Enhanced flexibility— Employers can
choose between urine or oral fluid;
whichever specimen is best suited to a
particular situation.
• Enhanced versatility— Oral fluid collections
can occur anytime, anywhere, and
most of the precautions needed for
urine collections are unnecessary with
oral fluid.
• Decreased invalid tests— Oral fluid collections
are 100 percent observed,
which substantially reduces the risks of
substitution or adulteration.
• Saves time— Oral fluid collections can occur
at or near the place of work, reducing
the time needed away from work to void
a urine sample at an off-site location.
• Versatility in detection— Oral fluid testing
is capable of detecting drugs within
minutes after ingestion. Full story »
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