Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Home
Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Home

Comprehensive Drug Testing FAQ's

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Download PDF version. [122k]

Why Redwood Toxicology Laboratory?

Redwood Toxicology Laboratory (RTL) is one of the largest, full-service, independent drug and alcohol testing laboratories in the United States. RTL utilizes state of the art screening and confirmation methodologies for urine and oral fluid drug testing and is trusted by over 7,000 customers.

Advantages of using RTL include:

  • Extensive experience in performing forensic toxicology analysis for alcohol and drugs of abuse,
  • Highly qualified scientific staff,
  • Tests performed on state of the art instrumentation,
  • Excellent client services, and;
  • Extensive quality assurance and quality control procedures that help to ensure accurate results.

How will my agency benefit from choosing the Comprehensive Drug Test?

Key features include:

  • Detects over 600 brand name prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and alcohol (specimen validity included)
  • Includes expanded list of opiates/narcotics
  • High specificity—GC/MS analysis provides confirmative evidence of use
  • Highly sensitive—includes quantitative, semi-quantitative, or qualitative test result data
  • Extensive quality assurance and quality control procedures that help to ensure accurate results.

Key benefits include:

  • Limit workplace liability and employee costs
  • Ideal for nursing/physician workplace testing
  • Well-suited for treatment admittance and monitoring
  • Determines compliance of pain medication patient

Are prescription drugs abused for non-medical use?

Prescription drug abuse is a growing problem across the country. Most people take prescription medications responsibly; however, an estimated 48 million people (ages 12 and older) have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. This represents approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population.1 The liability issue is tremendous and may damage the lives of employees, patients, your facility's reputation, and revenue.

Which prescription drugs are abused most often?

A few types of prescription drugs are misused or abused most often:

  • Opiates/Narcotics—alleviate pain, depress body functions and reactions, and when taken in large doses, cause strong euphoria.
  • Barbiturates/Benzodiazepines—slow down brain activity, treat anxiety, muscle tension, pain, insomnia, acute stress reactions, panic attacks, and seizure disorders. In higher doses, some CNS depressants may be used as general anesthetics.
  • Antidepressants—used to treat depression, anxiety and eating disorders. They are known as lifestyle drugs or "mood brighteners". Their side effects are the subject of many recent studies.
  • Stimulants—increase activity in certain areas of the brain. They are prescribed for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the sleep disorder narcolepsy, or obesity.

Each of these pharmacological classes may be divided into sub-groups and includes a variety of drugs, which may or may not be structurally related and differ in their effect and potency.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), which monitors medications and illicit drugs reported in emergency departments across the nation, recently found that two of the most frequently reported prescription medications in drug abuse-related cases are benzodiazepines and opioid pain relievers.2

Where is prescription drug abuse most prevalent?

In 2003, approximately 15 million Americans reported using a prescription drug for non-medical reasons at least once during the year. This phenomenon is fairly common for some society groups in the U.S. Among them, medical worker abuse, drug seeking pain-patients, and teen abuse are the most alarming.

Comprehensive drug testing is well suited for a variety of environments including, healthcare settings—where easy access to prescription drugs is prevalent, medication adherence/monitoring settings, and any other facility needing to detect an extensive range of controlled substances.

In a world where prescription drug abuse is increasing, Comprehensive Drug Testing from RTL is the perfect solution—the valuable, dependable, and verifiable choice.

Will a standard drug test detect prescription drugs?

Conventional drug test panels will not detect the broad variety of addictive prescription drugs. They pass undetected in standard testing for such drugs as cocaine, marijuana, heroin and amphetamines. RTL's Comprehensive Drug Test solves this problem.

How accurate and reliable is the Comprehensive Drug Test?

RTL utilizes the most sophisticated, sensitive, and specific equipment and technology available. Confirmations of all presumptive positive samples are performed from a separate urine aliquot. The Comprehensive Drug Test utilizes an optimal method of extraction and GC/MS analysis for each individual drug.

What prescription drugs are tested?

This panel is designed to detect, in urine, a wide range of addictive prescription medications with high potential for abuse.

RTL's Comprehensive Drug Test detects prescription drugs within a variety of categories, including:

  • Antidepressants
  • Anticonvulsants
  • Barbiturates
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Narcotics/Opiates
  • Sedatives/Hypnotic Agents
  • Stimulants

See the complete list of prescription drug brand names covered, and cut-off levels by procedure online. List updated periodically.

RTL's Comprehensive Drug Test also tests for alcohol, illicit drugs, therapeutic drugs and specimen validity.

What other tests can I purchase?

RTL's offers the following additional drug and alcohol tests:

Can I combine on-site screening devices with a Comprehensive Drug Test?

Yes, you can combine Reditest® on-site screening devices with a Comprehensive Drug Test Panel. On-site devices are fast, convenient, and cost-effective. The Reditest® product family covers an extensive list of illicit and therapeutic drugs, and are a reliable first step in detection.

Can I combine EtG/EtS Alcohol Testing with a Comprehensive Drug Test?

Yes, you can combine ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and ethyl sulfate (EtS) testing to detect recent alcohol ingestion. EtG may be detectable in urine for up to 80 hours after the consumption of alcohol.

How much does RTL's Comprehensive Drug Test cost?

For information about Comprehensive Drug Test pricing, contact the RTL sales staff toll-free at (800) 255-2159.

How will RTL report my test results?

RTL offers Comprehensive Drug Test result reporting by internet (www.webtoxicology.com) or U.S. mail.

References

1) Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, "Prescription Drugs—Abuse and Addiction", NIDA Research Report, 2005.
2) Trends in prescription drug abuse, "Prescription Drugs—Abuse and Addiction", NIDA Research Report, 2005.


Learn more about Comprehensive Drug Testing. Call:   800-255-2159
›› Contact us online

›› How to order lab services