BY LAURA SHELTON, CMP
WASHINGTON REPORT
DATIA Submitted Its Comments to SAMHSA Regarding Proposed Oral Fluid Guidelines DATIA submitted its comments regarding the proposed Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs—Oral Fluids (OFMG) on July 13, 2015. DATIA supports initiatives to promote drug free workplaces thereby increasing workplace safety, and we applaud SAMHSA for promulgating these proposed guidelines allowing for the collection and testing of oral fluid specimens in federally mandated programs. In regards to the OFMG, DATIA is in support of the provisions and procedures within the OFMG, however deferred comments on the scientific/cutoff levels to the laboratories that have been working with HHS and the Drug Testing Advisory Board on this for a number of years. Throughout the guidelines, SAMHSA specifically asked for comments regarding certain issues including what constitutes a split specimen collection, should SAMHSA issue a list of approved oral fluid collection devices, requirements for MRO recertification CEUs, and validity testing. DATIA provided comments on these specific topics as well. View the comments here: htp://
datia.org/ eNews/OFMG_Comments.pdf.
HHS Issues Request for Information Regarding Hair Specimens for Federally- Mandated Testing Te Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on May 29 regarding the potential use of hair specimens for federally-mandated drug and alcohol testing. Tis is the first official step to review hair testing as a potentially viable part of federal drug testing programs.
www.datia.org
Te RFI is only going to be open for comments/submissions for 30 days aſter being published, which given the brevity of the topic and the fact that HHS has another potential rulemaking concerning oral fluid testing out for comment over the same time period, DATIA is hoping to have this RFI extended to at least 60 days. Comments were originally due June 29, 2015 then extended to July 29, 2015. Te RFI seeks input on questions such
as acceptable locations from which to collect hair specimens, the effect of hair treatments on drug concentrations within hair, potential situations where hair testing is acceptable (pre-employment, return to duty, etc.), specimen collection procedures, analytes/cutoff levels in hair, specimen validity, etc. DATIA urged its members to respond
to this request from HHS with concrete information on hair testing as well as a request to extend the comment period from 30-days to at least 60-days. We will keep our members posted as HHS moves forward with this initiative
Update Regarding HHS Approval of Entities that Certify MROs Te current version of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs (Mandatory Guidelines), effective on October 1, 2010, addresses the role and qualifications of Medical Review Officers (MROs) and HHS approval of entities that certify MROs. Subpart M—Medical Review Officer (MRO), Section 13.1(b) of the Mandatory Guidelines, ‘‘Who may serve as an MRO?’’ states as follows: ‘‘Nationally recognized entities that certify MROs or subspecialty boards for physicians performing a review of Federal employee drug test results that seek approval by the Secretary must submit their qualifications and a
sample examination. Based on an annual objective review of the qualifications and content of the examination, the Secretary shall annually publish a list in the Federal Register of those entities and boards that have been approved.’’ HHS has completed its review of entities that certify MROs, in accordance with requests submited by such entities to HHS. Te HHS Secretary approves the
following MRO certifying entities that offer MRO certification through examination:
●
American Association of Medical Review Officers (AAMRO) P.O. Box 12873 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 Phone: (800) 489–1839 Fax: (919) 490–1010 Email: cferrell@
aamro.com Web site: htp://
www.aamro.com
●
Medical Review Officer Certification Council (MROCC) 836 Arlington Heights Road #327, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Phone: (847) 631– 0599 Fax: (847) 483–1282 Email:
mrocc@mrocc.org Web site: htps://
www.mrocc.org
HHS approval became effective May 26, 2015.
ODAPC Publishes Revised Employer Drug and Alcohol Testing Handbook Te U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance (ODAPC) updated the “What Employers Need to Know About DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing” guidelines, also known as the “Employer Handbook” on June 1, 2015. Last revised in October 2010, this new
version can be viewed at htp://www.
dot.gov/odapc/employer_handbook. A summary of changes made to the “Employer Handbook” can be found on the last page of the booklet.
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