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From: Robert Swotinsky MD
Date: 12 Nov 2005
Time: 08:14:03 -0800
Remote Name: 68.166.233.94
Ms. Nichols, thank you for visiting the site and posting your experience with a positive drug test performed on behalf of the parole board.
This Q&A board discusses interpretation of drug tests in workplace testing programs. Under the federal model of workplace drug testing, a physician (MRO) is placed between the laboratory and employer to interpret test results and downgrade non-negative results where there are alternative medical explanations. Federal regulators consider the MRO a critical protection within a setting where the government is mandating testing of people who have a low rate of drug abuse and who are being tested generally without cause and for the purpose of deterring drug use. Use of an MRO helps balance individual rights with the employer's right to demand a drug-free workplace. By contrast, in testing programs by parole boards, the population being tested has a higher rate of drug abuse and (one could argue) a lower expectation of personal privacy rights. While some might argue that they should, testing programs by parole boards typically do not include review of test results by an MRO physician prior to reporting to the parole board.