In January, the Department of Health and Human Services revised Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs that will become effective on the 1st of October. Those organizations that comply with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) standards must now comply with new panel standards. If specific drug panels are identified in the current policy, updated policy language should also be considered. Some key points of the guidelines include expanded federal urine workplace drug testing to include Schedule II opioids, a lower pH cutoff from 3 to 4 to identify an adulterated specimen, the removal of methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) for confirmatory testing and the addition of methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) as an initial test analyst.

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