Oral Fluid Drug Testing
A Valuable Addition To Your Testing Protocol
Implementing a drug testing protocol that utilizes an array of specimen types can provide a broader view of your patient’s drug and medication history. Oral fluid drug testing is a valuable addition for clinicians who treat patients with substance use disorder or are on chronic opioid therapy for pain management.
Oral fluid testing is beneficial for medication monitoring, providing insight into patient adherence to treatment plans, indicating potentially harmful drug-to-drug interactions, and use of medications that weren’t prescribed or illicit substances, helping to prevent drug overdose and improving patient safety and outcomes.
Benefits of Oral Fluid Testing
Identification of Parent Drugs Rather Than Metabolites
Oral fluid is a direct filtrate of blood, so circulating parent drugs are excreted and detected at higher concentrations than metabolites.
Snapshot of Recent Drug Use
Drug use can be detected in oral fluid almost immediately after ingestion, with a maximum detection window of 1–3 days for most drugs. It identifies illicit or prescription drug a patient has or has not taken recently, including THC. The shorter detection window is also helpful when monitoring adherence in patients taking chronic prescribed medications.
Nearly Impossible to Adulterate
Because oral fluid collection is observed, it is the ideal sample type for testing patients at risk for tampering. When the proper collection protocol is followed, this testing technique is almost impossible to adulterate.
Non-invasive, Touchless Collection
Oral fluid collection utilizes an observed, gender-neutral collection, eliminating patient privacy concerns.
Navis Clinical Laboratories offers an extensive drug testing menu with over 180 metabolites and parent drugs, including more than 60 mental health testing options. Contact us for a complete list of drug testing options.