Insurance and the presymptomatic diagnosis of delayed-onset disease

Abstract

<h3>In Reply. —</h3> Ms Moss raises many issues about the drug testing of pregnant women. Critical components of any testing policy include the following: (1) the purpose of testing, (2) the context of testing, (3) who is to be tested, (4) whether testing is voluntary or involuntary, (5) the specificity and sensitivity of the assay employed, (6) the confidentiality of the results, and (7) the therapeutic and/or punitive measures that occur as an outcome of the procedure. As indicated in our article, we favor the functional testing of job performance in the workplace rather than random urine testing. When an individual is found to be impaired, then we propose that the cause of this impairment should be determined, followed by appropriate therapy. Urine testing alone does not determine impairment or the presence of addiction. To label a person an addict and recommend treatment on the basis of a single test