Tips For Choosing The Best Drug Test For Your Employees

Drug testing at the workplace is a crucial practice that ensures productivity and protects the reputation of your business. In specific industries, safety regulations by federal authorities mandate routine employee drug test programs. Creating a testing program for your company might seem overwhelming, considering the number of options available.

Here are some time-tested tips to help you choose the most suitable drug screening test for your employees:

Choose the Right Drug Test for Your Industry

The first step to making the right choice is assessing what suits your specific business and industry. For industries such as law enforcement, transportation, and healthcare, stringent regulations govern the type of test and the type of specimen to use. Businesses operating in these industries must use urine testing as it is the only federally approved specimen type.

Consider the Reason for Testing

Another primary factor in guiding your choice is the reason for testing. You may need to conduct drug tests after a workplace accident or as a standard procedure before hiring. Urine tests are the most common and are known to detect the widest range of drugs. However, they are limited to testing drugs used in recent days.

Hair testing, on the other hand, can detect drugs used as far back as three months. It is, therefore, suitable for determining long-term users but not great for testing after an incident.

Saliva is also popularly used for checking recent use and will detect most substances that urine tests pick up. It is particularly suitable for preventing tampering as it will not require employee seclusion in bathrooms. Blood testing is the most intrusive but is a great choice when investigating a workplace incident. Notably, you can only conduct this test in a hospital setting.

Assess the Desired Testing Level

Drug tests conducted on hair follicles or urine allow for a measure of customization to suit your needs. Depending on the level of testing you require, you could check for anywhere between five and 22 different drugs.

A standard test is commonly referred to as a 5-panel test. It will detect a maximum of five drugs, including amphetamines, marijuana (THC), heroin, cocaine (opiates), and phencyclidine (PCP).

Including more substances in the testing increases the number of panels, thus expanding the testing level to meet your specifications. Choose the suitable panel test for your organization’s corporate culture if there are no binding legal requirements.

Work within Your Budget

Testing options also vary significantly in terms of cost. While hair testing offers the longest detection window and exceptionally high accuracy and detail, it is also the most expensive among popular options. Blood testing, also considered to be highly reliable, is also costly.

On the other hand, urine tests are relatively low-priced, in addition to being fast and reliable. Not surprisingly, at least nine out of 10 drug tests in the United States are urine-based. Saliva tests take second place in popularity as they are also inexpensive.

Finding the Best Fit for Your Company

With such a wide array of options, narrowing down to just one choice is challenging. However, analyzing regulatory requirements, your unique needs, and your budget in light of the above tips will help you get the ideal solution for your organization.