Drug testing
Everyone is familiar with the concept of drug testing in sport, but this relates to the use of drugs to enhance performance. Professional sportsmen and women are paid for what they do and the social use of drugs and alcohol can harm their ‘work’, their own reputation, and the reputation of their sport. Consequently many sports bodies look at the use of ‘recreational’ drugs in the same context as other occupations. Medscreen has experience of working with such bodies to develop drug testing regimes that may include other drugs, for example diuretics for jockeys. Random testing provides the best deterrent against the inappropriate use of drugs and alcohol, and we can arrange programmes that dovetail with training schedules, but are not disruptive. Legally defensible drug testing ensures that all results are treated confidentially. As with sports testing, the sample is split into two portions, and if the result is challenged the second portion is sent to another laboratory for analysis.
