AR Journey LAB

01/14/2021

We have a new number at our Benton Location 501-204-8749 and our new fax number is 501-295-3232

05/18/2020

We have the Covid-19 ANTIBODY Rapid Results in! Know your results in 15 minutes or less.

05/08/2020

04/22/2020

We are now testing for Covid 19 antibodies in both locations Benton and Hot Springs. Bring in Drs orders or requisition.

11/01/2018

Latest NSDUH findings

An estimated 30 million people, or 11.2% of the U.S. population, used an illicit drug in the past month, according to the latest data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). As our country faces an opioid crisis and states continue to legalize ma*****na, it is no surprise that ma*****na and opioids topped the list as the two most popular drugs.

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, NSDUH is an annual survey of self-reported drug use by Americans aged 12 years old or older. The survey gathers information on 10 categories of illicit drugs, which include ma*****na, co***ne, he**in, hallucinogens, inhalants, methamphetamine, prescription pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants, and sedatives.

The survey is considered by many to be the definitive source for national estimates of rates of use, numbers of users, and other measures related to illicit drugs, alcohol, and to***co products in our society. Its insights build awareness of substance abuse issues and help to analyze patterns and trends in the United States. Some key points from the most recent data for Americans aged 12 or older include:
–Approximately 26 million people were current ma*****na users and 3.2 million were current misusers of prescription pain relievers
–An estimated 11.4 million people misused opioids in the past year which includes both pain relievers and he**in
–Hydrocodone was the most commonly misused subtype of prescription pain reliever
–Six out of 10 people said they misused pain relievers to alleviate physical pain (62.6%)
–One million people tried co***ne for the first time in 2017, equating to 2,800 new users per day
–Approximately 774,000 people were current methamphetamine users
–More than 140 million Americans were current alcohol users with 16.7 million drinking heavily (meaning drinking on 5 or more days in the past 30 days
–Approximately 19.7 million people reported having a substance use disorder related to alcohol or illicit drug use.
–Marijuana comprised the most common substance use disorder, impacting an estimated 4.1 million people.
–One in seven people, or 20.7 million Americans, needed substance use treatment in 2017.

As data from the NSDUH examines self-reported drug use, the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ for the same time period also showed that drug use in the American workforce remained at its highest rate in more than a decade. Overall positivity was fueled by co***ne and methamphetamine as well as an uptick of ma*****na positivity rates in states that have enacted recreational ma*****na use statutes since 2016.

For more information about drug testing, visit our website or contact us online or just simply call 501-318-4501 in Hot Springs, AR or501-574-6061 in Benton,AR

11/01/2018

10 Reasons to Implement a Workplace Drug Testing Program

Both employers and employees have a responsibility to contribute to not only a productive, positive, and comfortable work environment, but also to a safe workplace. Instituting a drug testing program can help to accomplish these outcomes. The following list details the most common reasons employers implement and sustain workplace drug testing programs.
1.Improve company image. Drug testing can help to boost consumer confidence around product quality, safety, reputation, and employment best practices.
2.Provide a safe workplace for employees. Implementing a drug testing program can help to reduce on-the-job accidents and crime involving drugs.
3.Comply with state laws and Federal regulations. Employers are responsible for understanding and adhering to their local and Federal laws. For some safety-sensitive industries, drug testing is a requirement.
4.Manage healthcare and insurance costs. An enforced drug testing program can aid in avoiding costs related to alcohol and drug-related injuries and illness, while helping to lower worker’s compensation exposure.
5.Improve company morale. Drug testing can help promote a safer work environment, playing a role in fostering a positive corporate culture.
6.Enhance employee productivity. A drug testing program can help to reduce unscheduled leave, absences, tardiness, and employee turnover.
7.Deter drug use and rehabilitate employees. Effective drug testing programs can help to deter drug use among employees; further, testing can help to identify those who may need employee assistance or rehabilitation services for a substance use disorder.
8.Protect employees, customers, and the public. Drug testing protects employees, customers, and the public from employees using drugs; it can also help to keep employees safe from harm and employers safe from liability.
9.Prevent hiring candidates who use drugs. Pre-employment drug testing helps to prevent hiring individuals who use illicit drugs.
10.Keep employers and employees educated. A well-run drug testing program provides tools employees need to participate and benefit from a drug-free workplace, as well as information about the physical effects of drug use and the nature of addiction.

Employers should consider their unique business needs, and select elements of a drug testing program that will be most beneficial to their job roles and environment. An effective workplace drug testing policy, combined with proper education, can help employers benefit from a number of both tangible and intangible advantages.

11/01/2018

3 little known facts about drug testing:
Drug testing is sometimes misrepresented as being unnecessary or intrusive, especially as drugs like ma*****na are aggressively promoted as “safe.” However, the purpose of drug testing is not to penalize job seekers or current employees working in sectors that require regular testing for safety. The goal of drug testing is to help establish and advocate for a healthy, safe work environment.

Fact #1: Drug testing helped identify a massive post-war he**in addiction epidemic

Drug testing originated shortly after the Vietnam War. In 1971, President Nixon directed the military to initiate a urine drug testing program to identify service members in need of rehabilitation. This newly formed program yielded a disturbingly high positivity rate among military personnel returning from Vietnam. In the years following, the U.S. Department of Defense formally defined and put into place forensic drug testing requirements for the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force. After implementation, drug test positivity in the military dropped from a staggering 27.6% in 1974 to 5.3% in 1988. Service members indicated that they believed drug testing was the main reason for this decrease in drug use.

Fact #2: The life of a drug testing specimen does not end at the collection site

The collection site is only the beginning of the drug testing journey. Once the drug test specimen arrives at the laboratory, it undergoes a rigorous and well-orchestrated testing process that includes sorting, scanning, screening, certifying results, and archiving specimens. While handling more than 20,000 specimens each day,laboratories usher through every specimen using sophisticated, state-of-the-art instrumentation, time-tested processes, and a village of trained professionals who adhere to strict, highly regulated procedures.

Fact #3: You can pass a drug test

How can you pass a drug test? Don’t do drugs. Attempting to evade drug tests and believing false advertising from concoctions designed to help in deceiving laboratory tests, simply does not work. Drug test technology continues to evolve and there will always be people who try to find ways to cheat a urine drug test. One of the best ways to combat potential cheaters is to diversify your workplace drug testing program and choose test types with observed collections, such as oral fluid and hair, to reduce the risks of cheating.

Most recently, would-be drug test cheaters are using synthetic urine despite states passing legislation to ban its use. Specimen validity testing is an additional level of testing performed by our laboratories to help ensure the integrity of a test by measuring pH, creatinine, adulterants, and specific gravity. Simply put, our lab can determine if a urine specimen is actually human urine.

Despite these three lesser known facts, the benefits of drug testing are backed by research and sound science. We are committed to continuing to educate employers about the importance and benefits of drug testing.

Follow the journey of a new employee’s first year in the drug and alcohol testing industry.

10/10/2018

Reasons for Testing: Reasonable Suspicion or For Cause Drug Testing

by Alex
Reasonable suspicion testing, also known as for cause drug testing, is performed when supervisors have evidence or reasonable cause to suspect an employee of drug use. Evidence is based upon direct observation, either by a supervisor or another employee. Specific reasons for reasonable suspicion testing include physical evidence of illicit substances, patterns of erratic or abnormal behavior, disorientation or confusion and an inability to complete routine tasks.

Since this type of drug testing is discretionary, it requires careful, comprehensive supervisor training to ensure consistent application of the program across the workforce. Employers with safety-sensitive employees subject to federally-mandated testing are provided with definitions of suspicious behavior and given specific steps to follow to administer reasonable suspicion testing. Employers in the general U.S. workforce are responsible for creating and administering their own guidelines and policies. Employees who are suspected of drug use or a policy violation are generally advised not return to work while awaiting their tests results.

Positivity Rates

Results from the 2014 Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ (DTI) show that, as with both pre-employment and random drug testing, urine drug test positivity rates for reasonable suspicion testing are higher in the general U.S. workforce (27.7%) than they are in the federally-mandated workforce (9.3%). However, the difference between the two workplace types is much more pronounced for reasonable suspicion than other testing reasons.

Testing Prevalence

Data gathered from the Quest Diagnostics DTI show that in 2014 reasonable suspicion testing comprised only 0.6% of U.S. general workforce urine tests and 0.2% of tests in the federally-mandated workforce. With pre-employment and random drug testing constituting the majority (~90%) of testing volumes, other testing reasons are often used to fill specific needs and are not necessarily used broadly by different employers.

Specimen Types

Currently, urine is the only specimen type permitted for federally-mandated drug testing programs. In general U.S. workforce drug testing programs, oral fluid is a frequent alternative for this testing reason since collections are easy to administer on-site, and, much like urine, oral fluid does an excellent job of detecting recent use – the type of use that would prompt reasonable suspicion testing. Hair testing is not considered a specimen of choice for reasonable suspicion or post-accident testing when the employer is trying to determine if the current use of a drug may have caused the observed behavior. Leveraging data from the 2014 DTI for reasonable suspicion drug tests in the general U.S. workforce, positivity rates were as follows for both specimen types:
◾Urine – 27.7%
◾Oral fluid – 24.1%

The higher prevalence rates – as compared to pre-employment and random tests – are not unexpected given that reasonable suspicion testing is based upon observation of an employee and behavior that may be indicative of drug use.

In Conclusion

For cause drug testing, as well as the other testing reasons we have yet to cover, such as post-accident and return to duty, make up a small fraction of total test volumes. Yet, since they are often used in specific circumstances, they tend to yield comparatively higher positivity rates. When used in combination with other reasons for testing, for cause drug testing can be an excellent deterrent to employee drug use, and as such it is a key component in maintaining a drug free workplace.

For more information about reasonable suspicion testing, visit our website or contact us online.
Employers design drug-free workplace programs to protect their organizations from the adverse impacts of drug abuse and promote productivity, health and safety. Every drug testing type and method has its strengths and employers must choose which works best for their organizations.

10/09/2018

TWO LOCATIONS!!!! 1705 CENTRAL AVE IN HOT SPRINGS AR 501-318-4501 AND 504 LILLIAN BENTON AR72015. 501-574-6061

10/09/2018

Employers are tasked with making important decisions about how best to keep their workplaces safe, productive and drug-free. An important component of creating and maintaining a drug-free workplace is having an effective drug testing program. And, while urine drug testing has been the standard for decades, there are now many other drug testing options available, including hair, oral fluid and instant testing.

Choosing the best drug testing solution for your company is an important decision, and a number of criteria including your goals, geography, industry and the jobs being performed by your employees should factor into your selection. Our Drug Testing Needs Assessment consists of 10 simple questions designed to help you sort through your options. Take a few minutes and leverage this powerful tool which will help you determine the drug testing solution that will best meet your needs.

Take the Drug Testing Needs Assessment

10/09/2018

CDC Proposes Limitation on Prescription Opiates

by Landon Todd on March 16, 2016

opioid_statistic.jpgAccording to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of opioid-related deaths in 2014 increased 14 percent from the previous year. The CDC also reports that drug overdoses now exceed car crashes as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the U.S. – most of which involve prescription opioids like OxyContin and Percocet.

While these statistics are alarming, they are not surprising. The sales of prescription opioids have increased in the U.S. by 300 percent since 1999. This over-prescription of pain killers is causing an epidemic across the country.

Although pain management is a necessity for many people, the risks of each treatment should be taken into careful consideration. In an effort to combat the opioid epidemic, while still providing pain treatment to those that need it, the CDC has proposed new prescribing guidelines for doctors, urging them to try other pain relief methods before opting for opioids.

Prescription opioids provide relief for those who suffer from chronic or reoccurring pain, and are therefore, a necessary evil. That said, improving the way opioids are prescribed through the proposed clinical practice guidelines can help ensure patients have access to safer, more effective pain treatments while reducing the chances for misuse, abuse or overdose