USA Mobile Drug Testing can train your supervisors to spot abusers and help them. Web program is available.

Call 516-802-3546 or email central.longisland@usamdt.com, for more info on our web-based supervisor training program which offers DOT certificates also. Great for any company.

To curb employees’ on-the-job substance use and intoxication, bosses need to do more than just be around their employees all day, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

“It’s only when employees think their supervisor knows how to detect substance use — and is willing to do something about it — that employees’ drinking and drug use on the job decreases,” explains Michael Frone, PhD, senior research scientist at RIA and research associate professor of psychology.

“Contact with a supervisor, no matter how often, is not a strong enough deterrent for some employees, our research finds.”

Frone’s study included 2,429 participants, ranging in age from 18-65, employed in the civilian labor force and from households located in the 48 contiguous states. They were interviewed in a random telephone survey for 45 minutes.

The study is part of a $1.4 million research project, “Workplace Substance Use: A National Prevalence Study,” funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The results are published in the current issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Frone found that workers reported drinking less on the job when they thought their supervisors could detect substance-use problems and were willing to take corrective action. But, supervisor enforcement had no relation to employees’ off-the-job alcohol use and intoxication.

When it came to illicit drugs, however, supervisor enforcement produced lower levels of drug use both on and off the job, the research shows.

“The finding for off-the-job illicit drug use is not surprising because company policies often sanction such behavior. Even so, supervisor enforcement had a stronger relationship to on-the-job compared with off-the-job illicit drug use,” Frone says.

The results, he says, have several practical implications. For researchers, the findings indicate that factors influencing employee substance use are more complex than previously thought.

For employers, the study suggests that supervisor training in how to spot and confront employee substance use would help reduce alcohol and illicit drug use on the job, thereby improving employee productivity.

“To the extent that supervisor social control reduces substance use at work, our other research suggests that it may also reduce stress and improve morale among the majority of employees who do not engage in such behavior,” Frone adds.

According to Frone, previous research did not make a consistent connection between supervisor social control and employee substance use because it failed to consider simultaneously the dimensionality of supervisor social control, the context of substance use and substance legality.

A social and organizational psychologist, Frone is the first researcher to conduct a broad national study of both workplace and workforce substance use, as opposed to just workforce substance use. This study, conducted during 2002-03, assessed the prevalence, predictors and outcomes of workplace and workforce substance use.

Frone’s next national survey will take a broader look at workplace stress, including the recent recession, and both workforce and workplace alcohol use and impairment. The $2.2 million study “Work Stress and Alcohol Use: A National Study of Unresolved and Unexplored Issues,” was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

“We hope to identify combinations of work stressors and identify subgroups of vulnerable workers that are associated with stress-induced drinking, and spot variables that may help explain why work stress is related to employee alcohol use,” Frone says.

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=5591046495609552925&gid=3327926&type=member&item=104666275&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Emedicalnewstoday%2Ecom%2Freleases%2F243461%2Ephp&urlhash=s85u&goback=%2Egde_3327926_member_104666275

Above the Influence. It’s a state of mind. It’s about being yourself and not letting negative influence get to you. Pressure to drink, do drugs or do anything that goes against who you are in order to fit in—that’s negative influence. And if you’re one of the teens who want to stay above it, you’ve come to the right spot. Learn More »

Above the Influence. It’s a state of mind. It’s about being yourself and not letting negative influence get to you. Pressure to drink, do drugs or do anything that goes against who you are in order to fit in—that’s negative influence. And if you’re one of the teens who want to stay above it, you’ve come to the right spot. Learn More »

Found this wonderful information source and had to pass it on to all those teens and parents out there. Hope to keep your teens above the influence!!

USA Mobile Drug Testing of Central Long Island

516-802-3546            www.usamdt.com/central.longisland       Central.longisland@usamdt.com   

 

 

 

Prescription Drugs & Quantitative Level Reporting, what you don’t need to know..

Avoid Exposure to Liability … Employers reviewing employee lists of prescription drugs or asking for quantitative levels are dangerous practices and can lead to lawsuits reports USA Mobile Drug Testing of Central Long Island.

“August 29, 2011,  A federal jury for the Middle District of Tennessee awarded employees who were fired for using prescription medications more than $800,000. The award included punitive damages. The award was upheld by the Court (Bates et al. v. Dura Automotive Services, Inc. Case No. 1:08-0029 M.D. TN).

 Here, not only did non-medically trained supervisors make decisions regarding the impact of prescription use on the employees’ ability to perform assigned tasks, but they did so in the face of their own reviewing doctor calling the results negative and letters from some plaintiffs’ doctors saying they were perfectly safe. Their inflexibility of the drug test policy was, as the Court said, “sufficiently structurally devoid of consideration for the plaintiffs’ rights under the ADA that punitive damages are appropriate.” This was itself malicious.”

Compliance experts at USA Mobile Testing of Central Long Island  recognize a new threat these days: the widespread abuse of prescription drugs on the job.  Opioids like Vicodin and Oxycontin are growing in popularity, as are anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax and Valium, making it too easy for them to be abused. As dependencies grow, working people are often unaware or unable to admit that they have a problem, since prescription drugs are often considered “acceptable” by virtue of the fact that they’ve been prescribed, and are legal.

Standard 5 and 10 panel drug tests are not testing for many of the pain medications that are currently being abused in the workplace.  USA Mobile Drug Testing of Central Long Islandoffers expanded opiate testing that includes Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Oxycontin, Lortab, Vicodin, etc.  In any drug testing program, the use of a Medical Review Officer (MRO) is critical to the success of a defensible drug test result and avoidance of exposure to liability.

After receiving a positive result at the lab, it is the job of the MRO to determine what the final outcome is and what is to be reported to the employer – positive or negative.  The employer should never attempt to act as the MRO and review an employee’s list of prescriptions or attempt to make any decision based on the quantitative results from the laboratory.  Either of these situations will present the employer with huge exposure to liability, possible lawsuit, trial and payment of damages.   See the case above regarding Dura Automotive Services, Inc and the $800,000 award.

Employers should never ask employees for a list of their medications, this can lead to an ADA violation.  Is the employer trained and qualified to determine the affects of legally prescribed drugs?  For safety issues employers can ask employees’ for notification when they are prescribed a drug which may affect the employee’s to safely perform their job.  This is a company policy and fit for duty situation.

Employers should never review the quantitative levels from a positive drug test drug.  Is the employer trained and qualified to make any decisions from the quantitative levels?

Many factors influence the level of a drug in a donor’s system. Metabolism, physical condition, fluid balance, frequency of drug ingestion and the last time the drug was consumed are all contributing factors to quantitative levels. The ‘number’ you may see does not provide valid information outside the entire review process conducted by a licensed Medical Review Officer.

USA Mobile Drug Testing compliance consultants have the best interest of their clients in mind.  There is nothing effective that the employer can do with the quantitative levels on a positive drug test, in fact under DOT regulations it is prohibited to provide this information to the employer.

Why does the USA Mobile Drug Testing discourage quantitative level reporting and what does that have to do with Non DOT drug screening?

1.  To prevent the employer from having exposure to liability
2. The ‘numbers’ associated with quantitative levels require interpretation and context. This process should be handled by a medical doctor.
3. There can be liability issues with the pre‐judgment that may occur if a quant level is available.
4. The DOT is the single standard for drug screening.  A regulation within this standard is always a consideration for non DOT drug screening. A non DOT quant level has the same repercussions a DOT quant level has – misinterpretation and liability.

While it may seem that providing quant levels for a drug screen is a good idea, the opposite is true. Providing unambiguous and comprehensible information is helpful to our clients; providing confusing or potentially misinterpreted information is not so helpful. As a DER or C/TPA, we must consider the ramifications of the information we provide: for ourselves, a client, and for a donor (or an employee). Quantitative levels are just a part of the medical professional’s resources for interpreting a drug screening result. In a medical, treatment, EAP or SAP context, these levels assist with the overall interpretation of a positive drug screen. Outside of that context, quantitative levels provoke far more misinterpretation than they provide any meaningful information.

To avoid liability employers should have comprehensive drug free workplace policies and USA Mobile Drug Testing compliance experts can help with this. Drug testing should be performed with guidelines set forth by the Federal and appropriate State laws.  Reviewing employee lists of prescription drugs or asking for quantitative levels is a dangerous practice and can lead to lawsuits.  Employers are strongly urged to consult with and follow the advice of their USA Mobile Drug Testing compliance expert in all aspects of their Drug Free Workplace Program.Call for more information 516-802-3546.

A shockingly large portA large portion of U.S. military personnel are on multiple mind-altering prescriptions: Narcotics, antidepressants,,

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035232_US_troops_psychiatric_drugs_Afghanistan.html#ixzz1pftu5pCp

NavyTimes reports that psychiatric drug use is skyrocketing among military personnel, and that violent behavior (suicides) is a well-known side effect (http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/09/military-psych-meds-080910/):
Prescriptions for stimulants, including amphetamines and drugs to treat attention-deficit disorders, more than doubled. And claims for anti-psychotics like Seroquel and Abilify nearly doubled from 2005 to 2009 among beneficiaries ages 18 to 34, the Tricare data show. Seroquel is often used to treat nightmares and sleeping problems related to post-traumatic stress disorder.

The rise — and potential dangers — of psychiatric drug use is a growing concern for many military officials and doctors.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035232_US_troops_psychiatric_drugs_Afghanistan.html#ixzz1pfui3NSa

Don’t think your employees don’t use drugs, see report from Quest how many are.

USA Mobile Drug Testing of Central Long Island is here to help you identify those employees and get them help before they cause you tremendous law suits or damage themselves. Call for a consult 516-802-3546, the consult is free, the information is priceless.

http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Equestdiagnostics%2Ecom%2Femployersolutions%2Fdti%2F2012_03%2Ftable3%2Ehtml&urlhash=ItPJ&_t=tracking_disc

What is a standard urine drug test? USA Mobile Drug Testing of Central Long Island advises, there really isn’t one.

Today’s topic is about the difference between  a 5-panel test and a 9 or 10-panel test.  One of the biggest misconceptions is that there is a “standard” 5-panel or 9-panel test.  There is not a standard for these tests.  There are several options for the 5-panel or 9-panel tests.  However, when someone asks me to do a “standard” 5-panel test, they usually want a drug test done that mirrors the DOT (Dept of Transportation) standards.

The DOT tests for the following drugs in their 5-panel tests: THC (marijuana), cocaine, amphetamines (which is a class of drug and can include methamphetamines or prescription medications), opiates (also a class of drug and can include heroine or prescription meds), and PCP.  A little over a year ago, the DOT also added some extended opiates in their testing to include more pharmaceutical drugs, and to include testing for MDMA or ecstasy.  So, in summary, this covers the commonly abused illegal drugs. 

When you go to a 9-panel drug test, you are also testing for benzodiazepines (xanex and valium), barbituates (phenobarbital), Hydrocodone (Lortab, Vicodin), Methaqualone (Quaaludes), Propozyphene (Darvocet), and methadone.  Or any  combination of the drugs mentioned. 

The biggest issue with the choices given for testing is that when someone is stepping in to handle drug testing for a company, if they start ordering tests different from what other employees had been tested for before, there is room open for a case of discrimination.  So, if you normally run a 5-panel test and then decide to call a drug company and you decide to “test for everything”, and the employee tests positive for a drug that nobody else gets tested for, they may have a case for being treated differently. Its all about your drug free work place policy and what test you have decided on. USAMDT can advise you about all options, there are many urine panels available and surprisingly some cost the same as lesser panels.

Most people who call my office to get testing done really don’t know or understand what they are ordering.  I’m not sure that I think it’s hugely important that you remember all this except, I do think it’s hugely important to understand the tests you order when you are making that decision, then stick with that decision.  The best way to do that is to have a specific lab account set up for your company only and have pre-printed custody forms that you use every time.  That way, there is no thinking required.  Everyone gets the same test run.  It’s easy.  So, how do you do that? 

That is easy too.  Just ask your current provider to set up a separate account for you at their lab and to give you your own forms.  It’s easy and it shouldn’t cost any money.  And, you can still use any collector or medical facility to do the test collections for you.  So, if you end up having an employee who needs to be tested somewhere different than your normal provider, you can send the form with them, or you can send the form to the collection site in advance, or even in a pinch, you can fax the form for the collection site to copy.  If this is something you are interested in, drop me an email and I will help walk you through this. 

If you are only doing DOT testing, don’t sweat this, your tests are already done the same as long as your collectors are using the federal forms.  You should still have individual accounts which make it easier to compile reports that the DOT may ask for.  I can help with that too, just ask. 

Central.LongIsland@usamdt.com

School bus driver tested postive for cocaine. This is why USA Mobile comes to you to test.

Police are searching for a Cy-Fair ISD school bus driver who tested positive for cocaine use after she crashed a bus full of Hamilton Elementary students in a northwest Harris County neighborhood.

The driver, Catherine Daffin, 47, was charged with child endangerment and may face more charges.

According to Precinct 4 Assistant Chief Mark Herman, Daffin’s drug test results were subpoenaed from the company, Pinnacle Medical Management Corp, which Cy-Fair ISD uses to drug test its employees.

“We got the test results back and she did test positive for cocaine,” said Herman. “We contacted the DA yesterday who charged her with child endangerment. We’ve been trying to pick her up since last night.”

CFISD required Daffin to submit to a drug test the day after her accident.

“According to Board policy, the driver is tested for controlled substances and alcohol after an accident where the damage to the vehicle requires towing and the driver receives a citation,” said CFISD spokesperson Kelli Durham. “Since the driver received a traffic citation and the bus was towed due to damage, the driver of Bus 1101 was tested.”

Last month, the bus driver lost control of a bus filled with about 32 Hamilton Elementary students and nearly crashed into a house. A letter released by the school states the driver claimed “the bus started to accelerate, jumped the curb and continued to accelerate as she applied the brake.”

However, a later investigation revealed mechanical errors did not contribute to the crash.

First responders found the school bus in a yard and determined no one was seriously injured, although several children later visited a doctor. According to authorities, the bus hit two mailboxes, drove over a median and crashed into a tree in the 13000 block of Copeland. A resident was able to capture the aftermath of the crash with her phone.

“The driver was placed on leave immediately after the accident, as is our practice, and an investigation began into the cause of the accident,” said Durham. “The driver has not been employed by the district for several weeks. The investigation concluded this week and data clearly indicated that driver error was the cause of the accident.”

She later later tested positive for cocaine use and is wanted by Precinct 4 constable deputies.

To see footage of what happened after the crash, visit http://www.click2houston.com/news/School-bus-crash-caught-on-camera/-/1735978/8617260/-/74s7ypz/-/index.html.

http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/cypresscreek/news/cy-fair-isd-school-bus-driver-tests-positive-for-cocaine/article_8c501b6a-6938-11e1-a54e-001871e3ce6c.html?mode=story

Is It Ok If My Employees Smoke Pot On the Weekends?

Compliance consultants at USA Mobile Drug Testing get this question often from employers.  Many of these employers have Drug Free Work place Policies in effect.

WOW! Marijuana, while pretty widely accepted, is still illegal.  Would you allow your employees to break other laws on the weekends – hey what they do on their own time is their own business.

First off, employers should always follow their company policies.  If the policy states that the use of illegal drugs is prohibited on or off the job and marijuana is included in the list of illegal drugs; then you have to follow the policy when there is a violation.

Secondly, Department of Transportation (DOT) regulated employees cannot use illegal drugs including marijuana on or off the job.  This is a serious safety violation and an employer can face fines or be shut down for allowing someone who previously tested positive to continue to drive without required rehabilitation.

And there are a number of other reasons why an employer should care if their employees smoke pot on the weekends.  How do you know they only smoke pot on the weekends? There is no test that can tell you when the person used the illegal drug.  In any drug testing program, management must only be concerned with pass or fail after a confirmed drug test result is verified and reviewed by a Medical Review Officer (MRO).  At USA Mobile Drug Testing only Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) laboratories are utilized that perform initial and confirmation testing.  All results are verified and reviewed by the MRO.

Business owners and human resource managers often ask for the quantitative levels on a positive test for marijuana.  Why?  Is the business owner or HR manager a scientist with more knowledge than the scientist employed at SAMHSA certified laboratories?  What part of a positive drug test is misunderstood?  The levels do not tell you when the person smoked the marijuana.

We must also consider the harmful effects of using marijuana and the effects in the workplace.  Marijuana effects on the human body often have many negative and adverse consequences; marijuana effects include a weakening of the immune system, loss of memory, verbal skills and judgment. Are these the employees you are relying on? While many believe marijuana to be a “safe” drug, or one that cannot become addictive, studies by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and other research shows that marijuana and long-term marijuana effects can lead to addiction.  In the long term, health insurance costs sky rocket when drug users are in the group.

Smoking marijuana, while often joked about in circles of friends who smoke marijuana, does include severe impairment to a person’s ability to create and recall memories and events. Many drug users and friends of drug users see marijuana as a relatively innocent drug; however research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that marijuana has caused considerably dangerous conditions when driving under the influence. High doses of marijuana can cause hallucinations and delusions, at which point the person under the influence is liable to place him/her in unsafe situations.

USA Mobile Drug Testing compliance consultants have the best interest of their clients in mind.  There is nothing effective that one can do with the quantitative levels on a positive drug test, in fact under DOT regulations it is prohibited to provide this information to the employer.

Employing folks who smoke pot is huge exposure to liability. Marijuana users often use other drugs also.  No one who died from a heroin overdose ever just woke up that day and decided to use heroin.  Unfortunately they most likely started with marijuana and then moved on to cocaine and other highly dangerous drugs leading to the heroin overdose.  Do not let this happen in your organization call 516-802-3546 or email Central.LongIsland@usamdt.com for more information.

The increased use of opiate painkillers in veterans could lead to drug addiction

Morphine and similar powerful painkillers are sometimes prescribed to recent war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress along with physical pain, and the consequences can be tragic, a government study suggests.

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/vets-prone-to-drug-addiction-get-risky-painkillers-1.3583085

These vets are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, but they’re two times more likely to get prescriptions for addictive painkillers than vets with only physical pain, according to the study, billed as the first national examination of the problem. Iraq and Afghanistan vets with PTSD who already had substance abuse problems were four times more likely to get these drugs than vets without mental health problems, according to the study.

Subsequent suicides, other self-inflicted injuries, and drug and alcohol overdoses were all more common in vets with PTSD who got these drugs. These consequences were rare but still troubling, the study authors said.

The results underscore the challenge of treating veterans with devastating physical injuries and haunting memories of the horrors of war. But the findings also suggest that physicians treating these veterans should offer less risky treatment, including therapies other than drugs, the study authors and other experts say.

Opium-based drugs like morphine and hydrocodone can dull excruciating physical pain. Relatively few veterans are prescribed such drugs. But some doctors likely prescribe them for vets who also have mental pain “with the hope that the emotional distress that accompanies chronic pain will also be reduced. Unfortunately, this hope is often not fulfilled, and opioids can sometimes make emotional problems worse,” said Michael Von Korff, a chronic illness researcher with Group Health Research Institute, a Seattle-based health care system. He was not involved in the study.

The research involved all veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan wars who were diagnosed with non-cancer physical pain from October 2005 through December 2010 — or 141,029 men and women. Half of them also were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health problems.

The results were published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Department of Veterans Affairs paid for the study, which is based on VA health care data.

Lead author Dr. Karen Seal, who treats patients at the San Francisco VA Medical Center, said she sometimes prescribes opiates for war vets, but only if other painkillers don’t work, and only in collaboration with non-drug treatment from mental health experts, occupational therapists and other specialists.

That type of approach is part of a VA pain management policy adopted in 2009, toward the end of the study period.

Dr. Robert Kerns, the VA’s national program director for pain management, said the study “draws attention to growing concerns” about the use of opiate painkillers in veterans. These drugs may have a role in treating chronic pain in vets but only as part of a comprehensive pain management plan, he said.

In a written statement about the study, the VA said its pain management approach has been cited as a model of care, but that “we recognize that more work needs to be done.”

Retired Lt. Col. Steve Countouriotis, a 30-year Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, says that after returning home a few years ago, he received a morphine prescription for war-related back and shoulder pain. He refused to take it and used aspirin instead.

“I don’t feel comfortable taking those kinds of medicines,” said Countouriotis, 60, of Petaluma, Calif. “I don’t like mood-altering drugs.” He said he doesn’t have PTSD, but that some colleagues who do have also been given the drugs.

Doctors are too quick to prescribe them, Countouriotis said, adding, “It’s too many, too soon.”

Army data provided to The Associated Press last year showed that referrals for opiate abuse among soldiers rose during the decade that ended in 2009, and totaled more than 670 between October 2009 and June 2010.

Some vets in the new study got the drugs from overburdened primary care physicians outside the VA health system.

“Imagine primary care doctors getting about 20 minutes to see a patient expressing high levels of distress,” because of war-related physical and mental trauma, said Seal, the study author. The balance between providing pain relief while being cautious with drugs that can be habit-forming “is always in play,” she said.

In the study, 15,676 vets received opiate prescriptions for physical pain. These prescriptions went to almost 18 percent of vets with PTSD and 12 percent of those with other mental health problems, compared with about 7 percent of vets without those problems.

Among those with PTSD, subsequent self-inflicted injuries, including suicides, occurred in 3 percent of vets who got the drugs, versus 2 percent who didn’t receive those prescriptions. The study doesn’t provide a breakdown of suicides vs. nonfatal self-injuries.

The study “brings much needed attention to the complexity of this problem,” said Dr. William Becker, a Yale University instructor and primary care physician who treats substance abuse and has worked with veterans.

“Patients are typically younger individuals who are in many cases kind of struggling to find their feet again” after returning home from war, he said. The ideal treatment includes behavioral counseling, therapy for war wounds and management of chronic pain.

“The word is spreading and I think this paper is going to send another strong message that this has really got to become the standard of care,” Becker said.

___

Online:

JAMA: http://www.jama.ama-assn.org

PTSD: http://1.usa.gov/ftZKFP

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SLEEP APNEA affects 20million Americans & causes accidents

Obstructive sleep apnea affects around 20 million Americans.
– Driver fatigue accounts for at least 100,000 accidents per year, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
-NHTSA reports sleepy drivers are responsible for 1,550 deaths and 71,000 injuries
annually, not to mention $12.5 billion in monetary losses, as a result of auto
accidents.

The FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee and Medical Review Board
medical examiners has recommended any interstate commercial driver with a BMI
measurement of 35 or above (a 6-foot-tall, 258-pound driver has a BMI of 35). for
evaluation for obstructive sleep apnea
-A recent sleep poll showed that sleep — or lack thereof — caused or nearly caused
car crashes for almost 11 million drivers.
-In a recent survey conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 20 percent of
respondents admitted they had fallen asleep at the wheel at least once during
the previous year.

Loosing body fat /weight is the most effective home- treatment for apnea.

There is a relationship between BMI and apnea, but it can’t be used as the only diagnostic criteria. Snoring is probably a better indicator, but it’s one that drivers can choose not to disclose. Many physicians are not yet aware of the diagnostic criteria and so you get  inconsistencies.

Sleep apnea is definitely a concern because of the effect on health and the costs associated with that. . Individuals with undiagnosed sleep apnea have a higher risk of crashes because of sleepiness. This has been shown in studies all over the world. Sleep apnea in drivers should definitely be a concern for companies, insurers and the DOT. Companies that are sincerely interested in safety and the well-being of their driver should seriously look into this problem.

We are now offering Sleep Apnea studies at our College Point, NY office, Call 718-463-1166. Major Med will usually cover this.