5 Panel Drug Testing Process

Mobile Health performs nearly 200,000 drug tests a year, and has a specialized and professional approach to ensure accurate reporting of every test. Our 5 panel drug test is the most popular method in employer drug testing, most commonly used with urine. It may also be tested using hair, blood, or saliva samples instead.

The sections below summarize our collections, testing, and reviewing workflow. We’ve specifically designed each step in our individual or employer drug testing process for reliability and accuracy.

At Mobile Health

Upon checking in to a Mobile Health clinic or provider-partner, all patients must present a photo ID. We require this identification for any services provided by Mobile Health.

A staff member will then ask the patient to place any bags or large jackets in a secure locker. Patients must also empty pockets of any liquids or bottles. This helps ensure no adulterant products are used to contaminate the urine sample.

At this point, the staff member invites the patient to a designated urine sample collections area. This area will have multiple bathrooms with a blue dye in the toilet water to prevent dilution of the urine sample. Patients may use the available communal sinks after providing the urine sample to Mobile Health.

Once the patient provides the sample to Mobile Health, the staff member checks the temperature strip on the cup to ensure an normal temperature registration. If the temperature registers as too high or too low, the staff will ask the patient to provide a second sample. If the patient refuses, Mobile Health will report that the patient was unable to provide a sample.

After the patient signs the appropriate chain of custody documentation, the patient surrenders the sample and Mobile Health sends it to the laboratory for testing.

At the Laboratory

The first test performed is called an immunoassay screen. This rapid and accurate screening uses antibodies embedded on test strips to reveal evidence of drug use. When sufficient concentration of substances is present, the strip will indicate which have been detected.

The term 5 panel drug test comes from the 5 actual panels in the immunoassay process. These panels, or strips, represent the 5 substances tested for, including: amphetamine, cocaine, opiates, phencyclidine, and marijuana (THC).

If the test detects no substances, then Mobile Health categorizes the test as negative. In cases when the test could not be performed, Mobile Health considers the test indeterminate, due to possible adulteration or dilution of the sample.

If the test detects substances, then the test is deemed positive, which places it into one of the following categories:

• False positive: A rare error in the testing caused a false positive result.
• True positive: The test correctly identified certain substances correctly.
• True positive with medically acceptable documentation: The test found certain substances it tested for, but there is a medically acceptable explanation.

Mobile Health will always confirm any of the above 3 positive results through a more sensitive testing method. The most commonly used method is a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) test. The GC/MS test identifies specific substances by the metabolite, a chemical created when the drug is metabolized.

The GC/MS test will confirm or deny any false or true positives. Although the test might confirm a true positive, the Medical Review Officer will determine if an acceptable medical explanation exists.

The Medical Review Officer

Once confirmed by the GC/MS test, the Medical Review Officer (MRO) will review any positive results to ensure proper collections and testing. It is the responsibility of the MRO to contact any positive individual and determine if  any medically acceptable explanation exists.

If the individual presents a valid explanation, then Mobile Health returns the test result to the (prospective) employer as negative. This protects the personal medical information of the individual.

If no valid explanation exists, then Mobile Health returns the result as positive. The (prospective) employer may now decide on the appropriate next step.

Next Steps

Mobile Health drug testing is done at any NY Mobile Health clinic or at any of our 3,300+ provider-partners nationwide.

Have more questions about employer drug testing? Contact Mobile Health.