Testing urine for drugs

Abstract

The analysis of body fluids for drugs takes place in two distinctly different environments: the medical model and the penalty model. In the former, and in the context of patient care, the physician requests the test and the patient is both fully co-operative with the sample collectors and highly motivated to provide the ideal sample. In the latter case, the request usually comes from a non-medical authority and it may not be in the best interest ofthe individual to submit a valid sample. In the medical model the information obtained from the test is used to assist the physician in the care and management of the patient. In contrast, in the penalty model the results are used to impose some penalty to the individual. This fundamental difference, together with legal imperatives, has broad implications for the overall design and implementation of a drug testing programme.