This article was sponsored by Phamatech, a global manufacturer and distributor of diagnostics products.
Nearly 9% of adults in the U.S. workforce have a substance use disorder, according to the National Safety Council. Substance use in the workplace directly impacts employers and other employees, as it can decrease productivity, increase the chance of an accident, and impact revenue.
Implementing workforce drug testing can mitigate these issues for companies, protecting their bottom line and improving workplace safety. However, sourcing reliable and accurate drug tests with quick results can be challenging. That was until Phamatech created the first-ever FDA-approved at-home drug test™.
The at-home drug test™ combines the convenience of a rapid drug screening device with the scientific certainty of GC/MS laboratory confirmation. While the at-home drug test™ is configured for parents to use in the home, Phamatech offers employers similar test products for use in the workplace. Laboratory confirmation is the key component of legal defensibility.
“For over 30 years, we have been manufacturing instant drug testing devices in the United States and distributing them globally,” said Art Jensen, vice president of sales at Phamatech.
Compared to large testing facilities that can take up to a week to deliver laboratory confirmation, Phamatech turns negative results around in 24 hours or less, beating out some of the biggest labs in the country. Even GC/MS confirmation is typically completed within 48 hours. We receive samples from all over the country every day. With a commitment to dependability, reliability, accountability, and quality assurance, Phamatech is transforming the field of drug testing to provide faster, more reliable results.
Phamatech is one of a handful of laboratories in the U.S. that holds a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) certification, allowing them to drug test Department of Transportation (DOT) employees with safety-sensitive positions.
“What sets us apart from the competition is that we are not only a diagnostics manufacturer, but we are also an accredited laboratory that analyzes and provides legally defensible testing,” Jensen explained.
Thomas Insights (TI): What is the most common question customers ask?
Art Jensen (AJ): Our most popular products are our rapid, on-site testing devices, which provide results in minutes rather than days. So, one of the biggest questions we get is, “Do the rapid tests really work?”
Our answer is yes, they do work, in context. Our rapid tests are intended to be used as a screening tool. Drug testing is a multi-step process.
I’ll give you an example of what I mean. If you have 100 potential employees you want to hire over the next month, you can put them through a quick screening process using a rapid test to eliminate those that have used drugs. Taking a typical percentage of the population out of 100 applicants, approximately five samples would trigger a positive result.
Though our rapid tests are extremely sensitive, in order to provide legally defensible results, it is critical to confirm them with lab testing. So, those five urine samples can be sent to our lab for confirmation. The laboratory then conducts a deep and highly sensitive analysis to confirm or reject the results of the screening device.
The recommended next step is medical review. We can send these results to the Medical Review Officer (MRO), a physician trained in toxicology. The MRO reviews the results to ensure that the detection of drugs was not the result of the use of a legally obtained prescription drug. As these results are protected by HIPAA, the MRO is responsible for contacting the patient regarding their results, maintaining the patient’s confidentiality, and protecting the company from lawsuits.
TI: How does a small lab like Phamatech compete with other large U.S. facilities?
AJ: We are a small lab with only a couple hundred employees, but this doesn’t stop us from competing with the largest, most reputable labs in the country. We have the same certifications as the big labs and we have been manufacturing drug tests longer than any lab in the industry.
The larger laboratories maintain excellent standards — which we uphold as well — but with our size, we are afforded the opportunity to be on a first-name basis with our customers. We are also highly active in the e-commerce industry through our testing website, which allows customers easy and instant access to buy test kits with same-day shipping.
Most drug testing in the United States is conducted on urine, which can be problematic because not every employer is comfortable with handling bodily fluids.
There’s been tremendous pressure from the industry for the government to allow different protocols for drug testing, specifically oral fluids. Testing saliva is under consideration right now for DOT-regulated workplaces, and I expect within the year it will be approved. We have been selling saliva testing for a long time now, and we confirm saliva tests with all the state-of-the-art machines that we use on urine samples. We also do hair testing, which gives you the most accurate history of drug use because it can indicate which drugs an individual took up to three months ago.
TI: Is there a specific use case for Phamatech’s analysis services that you’re especially proud of?
AJ: Yes, our testing devices and analysis services are not only used for workplace testing. We have a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and several contracts across the country with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). With these contracts, we work with individuals that have had their children taken away from them because of their drug use. We test these individuals regularly so that they can continue to have access to their children.
There are a lot of success stories I can’t share because it’s confidential information, but our results have enabled the Department of Children and Family Services to keep parents that are a hazard due to drug use away from their children, preventing them from endangering their lives. DCFS has also been able to reunite families of rehabilitated individuals. This is something we participate in daily, and we’re very proud of that work.
TI: What other types of testing does Phamatech offer?
AJ: I would encourage anyone interested in drug testing to peruse our testing website and take a look at what’s available. We have something for everyone on there, including viral tests. We have several COVID-19 tests that will be important and useful as new variants continue to raise their ugly heads.
Even though interest in the COVID-19 pandemic is waning, it is still imperative to protect our vulnerable populations from the spread of this disease. We also own a mask factory, so we can provide masks to the people who need them.
