A Primer on Treating Drug Addiction

What I need to know about Drug Addiction, Screening, and Education

The signs are usually not hard to spot. Drastic changes in behavior, sleeping patterns, and conflict with family members and employers. Skipping past all the heartbreak, anguish, and destruction lets fast forward to the end or the beginning depending on your perspective-getting someone help. So you or a family member has finally admitted the needs for help. What does that help look like? There is going to be much uncertainty and change for everyone in the very near future so here is a helpful list of what to expect and look out for. This article is not designed to answer all of those questions or even to dive into them too thoroughly but to give an idea of what to after properly diagnosing drug addiction or alcoholism. While detection is important here are some of those areas of concern: Will this require hospitalization? Ultimately that's a question for you and a qualified treatment professional to determine, but there are a few principles behind in-patient treatment programs that will be helpful. Modern treatment for addiction and alcoholism is based on the principles that addiction is a disease and that attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs can be changed. The main goal here is to avoid substances and live an abstinent based lifestyle. Hospitalization allows an individual to detox under medical supervision which increases safety and overall success upon release.

How Long Does Drug Addiction Treatment Last?

A good treatment program aims to help someone with a drug or alcohol dependency issue by focusing on several major areas. Teaching the addict or alcoholic that addiction is an illness and the lifelong implications of that. A big part of receiving help also is that there is no cure and that is going to be a challenge which may require help in differing forms for a prolonged period of time. Translating that understanding into action that leads to change and growth. This process looks very different for every person and just like no two people have the same exact journey into addiciton, but there are facets of getting better that are mirrored across the treatment spectrum. Abstinence and healthy ways of living, whatever that may mean to the individual are all part of the healing process. A big part of getting anyone help or treatment for their drug dependency is proper detection and awareness. Drug testing is not appropriate in every situation but there are times when it is vital to properly diagnosing the exact nature of an addiction. Detoxing off certain drugs can have adverse health consequences which is why determining the precise substances being abused can be very importance. Accurate drug testing makes this possible. There are a number of good resources on the internet surrounding addiction treatment. The age of information makes it possible to research this topic endlessly, and make good informed decisions for yourself or a loved one.

Drug Testing Requirements and CLIA standards: An Overview

Drug Testing and CLIA Waived Tests

There has been an a virtual explosion in the the number of CLIA waived testing companies across the country. With this boom and growth, there are surely a number of drug testing service companies providing quality and expedient results for clients. However just like any other industry that experiences rapid and "overnight" growth, there are going to be a few bad actors that cut corners. Why cut corners? Well in such a competitive field there are going to be drug testing companies and labs that feel the only way they can compete is by taking shortcuts. That attitude and behavior is extremely dangerous for our industry for a number of reasons.

Accurate Drug Screening Results

There are a number of decisions and outcomes that depend on the results of a specific drug test, no matter the scenario that requires a drug screening. Be it a pre-employment drug screen or a screen related to getting an addict or alcoholic higher level of care, results matter. So when unethical companies cut corners by perhaps diluting testing chemicals or compromise quality to lower prices in a highly competitive market, not only is unethical but the consequences are much further reaching than just that simple false positive or false negative. Failing to provide accuracy would be the number one way in which a drug screening company could let down potential clients. We all understand the scope of the challenge and how there can be long-term consequences for simple discrepancies. There are a number of solutions being discussed by industry leaders, drug testing trade groups, and drug detection companies. The following items are just a few of the solutions that have been propose to curb and eliminate the issue of lowered quality and diminished accuracy.

Drug Testing Industry Standards and Requirements

One of the ideas being proposed is requiring proficiency testing for a lab and it's employees. Several times a year an oversight committee or body would mail samples to a lab, the specimen would then be tested, and the results submitted back to the regulatory agency. Since this is a sample that has been doctored to show specific results, not only are you testing the lab's accuracy but also the individual employee who ran the screen. While this is not a popular idea, and requires some significant effort from a number of drug screening industry leaders, the idea is sound overall. Another idea being circulated is standardized training, accreditation, and certification. With standards that all employees and lab workers must adhere to, mistakes would decrease and quality of service would rise. There is significant backlash from some of the fly by night testing facilities against both of the two previously mentioned ideas because of the effort involved. UACUPS understands that quality drug testing service and ensuring accuracy are of the utmost importance. Our involvement in conversations around industry topics is just one of the ways we are staying at the forefront of industry trends, research, and developments. We are committed to ensuing the utmost quality and accurate drug screening nationwide, and will keep you updated on industry news as it develops. We welcome you feedback and would love to hear solutions from you. What do you propose that the drug detection and screening industry could do as a whole to raise service quality and ensure even higher standards of accuracy?