Five Panel or 10 Panel Drug Screen? - It Could Make a Critical Difference
All NEMT companies should require potential employees to take a urine drug test before they can be hired. One benefit of the urine drug screen is that it can keep people with drug problems out of safety sensitive positions that require the ability to be alert and focused at all times. NEMT personnel who use drugs put the safety of many people at risk. Testing may also lower the risk of on-the-job accidents.
The last thing you want for your business is to have one of your drivers get into an accident because of drugs. In addition to potentially harming your driver, your passengers, and members of the community, this will look bad for your reputation. You have invested your heart, time, and mony in developing your business and you cannot risk losing it due to a drug using employee. People want to know that the businesses in their community care about their safety, and drug testing is one way to prove it.
Reasons for post-employment testing vary depending on the situation at hand. Post-employment testing can be administered randomly, post-accident incidents in the workplace, suspicion of use, and legally required testing for NEMT drivers.
Other types of specimens used for drug testing include hair follicle, saliva, breath, and blood tests. Various methods of testing are available and can be administered either in-house or at a laboratory. Laboratories follow strict guidelines when performing drug tests to ensure confidentiality and accurate results.
How do you determine which urine drug test is the best option for your screening needs? Your selection is determined by the variety of drugs each urine panel screens for. While the 5-panel urine test is the most commonly used test, the 10 panel covers a wider range of drugs.
Five (5) Panel Drug Screen:
A standard five-panel tests for "street drugs" that may include any of the following substances (more detailed in the 10 panel descriptions):
Marijuana (THC)
Cocaine
PCP (phencyclidine)
Opiates (e.g., codeine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, heroin)
Amphetamines, methamphetamine
MDMA (Ecstasy)
Ten (10) Panel Drug Screen:
The 10-panel drug test screens for the following controlled substances:
Amphetamines:
Amphetamine sulfate (speed, whizz, gooey)
Methamphetamine (crank, crystal, meth, crystal meth, rock, ice)
Dexamphetamine and other drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy (dexies, Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse, Focalin, Concerta)
Cannabis:
Marijuana (weed, dope, pot, grass, herb, ganja)
Hashish and hashish oil (hash)
Synthetic cannabinoids (synthetic marijuana, spice, K2)
Cocaine:
Cocaine (coke, powder, snow, blow, bump)
Crack cocaine (candy, rocks, hard rock, nuggets)
Opioids:
Heroin (smack, junk, brown sugar, dope, H, train, hero)
Opium (big O, O, dopium, Chinese tobacco)
Codeine (Captain Cody, Cody, lean, sizzurp, purple drank)
Morphine (Miss Emma, cube juice, hocus, Lydia, mud)
Barbiturates:
Amobarbital (downers, blue velvet)
Pentobarbital (yellow jackets, nembies)
Phenobarbital (goofballs, purple hearts)
Secobarbital (reds, pink ladies, red devils)
Tuinal (double trouble, rainbows)
Benzodiazepines are also known as benzos, normies, tranks, sleepers, or downers. They include:
Lorazepam (Ativan)
Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Diazepam (Valium)
Other screened substances include:
Phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust)
Methaqualone (Quaaludes, ludes)
Methadone (dollies, dolls, done, mud, junk, amidone, cartridges, red rock)
Propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvon-N, PP-Cap)
Employers can test for any legal or illegal substance, including medication taken with a legitimate prescription. Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in the U.S. The Surgeon General, as reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) states that alcohol and drug abuse, including tobacco, costs the economy over $740 billion per year. Costs are related to crime, lost work productivity and health care.
Contact XTransit Solutions at info@xtransitsolutions.com or (240) 245-6677 for more information on drug testing. Training courses on DOT guidelines are available at www.xtransitsolutions.com.
