Drug testing pros and cons
Drug testing is mandatory on Australian mine sites, but according to a leading service provider, choosing the correct program can be confusing for employers.
Medvet said drug testing is quick, accurate and cost effective.
Medvet Laboratories national operations manager Steve Korkoneas said “the success of a drug testing program often depends on selecting the most appropriate method of tests for the organisation.
“While both urine and oral fluid tests will detect cannabis, cocaine, opiates and amphetamines, there are advantages and limitations to each method.”
Korkoneas said that when choosing between urine and oral fluid drug testing, businesses should consider the pros and cons of each method.
Urine testing is the most accurate and popular method for drug testing, according to Medvet, and is used by approximately 80% of Australian organisations that test in the workplace. “Urine is more cost effective than oral fluid tests and can trace drugs that have been ingested more than 24 hours prior to testing,” Korkoneas said.
“Results can be determined onsite in 5-10 minutes with 98% accuracy. Urine tests also have the advantage of being able to detect benzodiazepines, which are commonly found in sleeping tablets and can significantly hinder a worker’s ability to undertake work duties safely.
“Current onsite oral fluid testing devices have a significantly lower chance of detecting this drug as benzodiazepine levels are extremely low in oral fluid.
“However, some organisations may find urine testing to be an intrusive method of testing for drugs,” Korkoneas said.
Oral fluid testing, which involves taking a mouth swab of oral fluid, is more expensive. However, it is usually considered a less intrusive method of drug testing. “Just like urine, onsite results can be obtained in 5-10 minutes,” Korkoneas said.
“As oral fluid collection can be observed by the collection agency, it has less privacy issues than urine testing, and means the results are slightly more difficult to adulterate.
“Organisations need to consider the fact that oral fluid tests have a shorter window of drug detection than urine testing. Oral fluid tests can generally only detect drugs ingested less than 24 hours prior to testing and cannabis ingested less than four hours prior to testing.
“Several studies have also concluded that onsite oral fluid testing does not display the same level of accuracy as urine. In addition, organisations with current policies that involve oral fluid testing need to be aware that there are currently no formally accredited oral fluid drug test devices.”
Contact: www.medvet.com.au
