ETHICAL ASPECTS OF WORKPLACE URINE SCREENING FOR DRUG-ABUSE

Objective - To review the ethical and legal implications of the involv ement of medical practitioners in workplace screening for drug misuse. Conclusions - Workplace screening for drugs of abuse raises many ethi cal issues. If screening is considered as being part of medical practi ce with the involvement of occupational health physicians, as suggeste d by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, then the ethical requiremen ts of a normal medical consultation are fully applicable. The employee 's full and informed consent to the process must be obtained and the e mployee should have an unfettered right of access to all the relevant records and to the urine sample he/she has provided in the event that he/she wishes to challenge the opinion expressed by the physician. If the process is not part of medical practice then employees should have the same rights as they would have if required to provide intimate bo dy samples in the course of a criminal investigation, given the potent ially serious consequences of an erroneous positive finding for their livelihood.