Updated Policy Regarding Insufficient Specimen Volumes Updated Collection Instructions

Dear Valued Client,

It is our first priority to deliver testing results that provide the most valuable information possible for your substance abuse testing needs. To better accomplish this duty to our clients, we are updating our policy concerning specimens that do not have sufficient volume for both preliminary testing and confirmation. Effective April 1, 2015, confirmatory tests that cannot be completed due to insufficient specimen volume will be cancelled on an individual drug class and/or analyze basis. We will report confirmation results for each test for which there is sufficient volume of specimen available, giving you access to more information.

To meet the strict standard for Forensic Testing, all presumptive-positive screening results must be confirmed using a second analytical technique, different from the screening technique. Our previous policy required us to reject an entire specimen as “Quantity Not Sufficient” if any presumptive-positive screening result could not be confirmed due to insufficient specimen volume. This resulted in a lack of any useful information for you, our client. That is no longer the case. Under our new policy, we will report out as many positive confirmation results as possible within the limitations of the specimen volume we have received. Confirmations of presumptive-positive results that cannot be completed due to insufficient specimen volume will be cancelled.

Hair Testing Clients:

“Quantity Not Sufficient” results occur most often for hair testing, which requires 100 mg of specimen to ensure enough volume for both screening and confirmations. As a result, we have updated our hair collection instructions to help ensure the proper specimen volume collection. Please have all collectors review the most recent updates. The hair collection instructions PDF is also available under Hair Testing on our website.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact our client services advocates at 800.235.2367 or at clientservices@usdtl.com.

Sincerely, 

Adam Negrusz, Ph.D.
Laboratory Director