Urine screening for drugs is increasingly employed in the United State
s in an effort to reduce illegal drug use and its consequent morbidity
, mortality and economic burden. The family physician may choose to en
sure proper urine specimen collection or may choose to develop experti
se as a medical review officer; training courses and materials are ava
ilable. In addition, certification is available from several organizat
ions. The physician who becomes a medical review officer is responsibl
e for interpreting positive tests and may also become involved in drug
rehabilitation programs. It is prudent to follow federal guidelines f
or occupational urine drug screening, even when these guidelines are n
ot mandatory, to protect against a possible challenge to a positive sp
ecimen on the grounds of improper processing. In all cases, care shoul
d be taken to correctly identify the patient, to label all specimens a
nd to document that the specimen has been secured against tampering.