Marijuana Lab Test

Coding for urine drug testing:  Get more insight here

When the lab carries out a urine drug test, what is the correct ICD-9 code? Well, the answer is ICD-9 Code does not provide one specific code for a urine drug test. The right diagnosis code to report when billing for the lab test depends on the signs, symptoms, patient condition or other reason for the test; say for instance screening. When requesting a urine drug test from the lab, the ordering physician will assign a narrative diagnosis ICD-9 code. Say for instance a high school student diagnosed as marijuana dependent earlier is not performing well in school. The physician suspects marijuana use again and orders urine drug screen. The most correct code here is 304.30. When coding for urine drug testing, you will always find yourself faced with questions such as these. Say for instance you may find it confusing as to which is the correct code to go for to report point-of-care (POC) urine drug screen (UDS) testing. Or sometimes you may be confused whether you should go for a CPT code or choose from one of the new HCPCS codes. If you do not know how to accurately report urine drug testing, you will certainly invite denials. But you can do away with your coding woes associated with urine drug test coding by signing up for an audio conference. When you register yourself for one, you'll clear all your doubts as far urine drug testing coding is concerned. So go for one today and ensure optimum reimbursement.

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Few will argue that drug abuse has become one of our nations biggest domestic problems.  Drugs and the heartbreak that follows have invaded both urban and rural communities across the country, inflicting devastation wherever they appear. Younger and younger children are experimenting with drugs and now, even elementary school age children have been found abusing marijuana, prescription drugs pilfered from their parent’s medicine cabinets and drugs manufactured from over-the-counter concoctions and hawked to them by older students. Half of all seniors in high school admit to having tried drugs and one out of ten admit to using marijuana regularly. Despite their vigilance, many parents find it impossible to tell if their children are dabbling in this dangerous world of drugs or not. Others are only too aware that drugs have invaded their households. In big, gateway cities like Los Angeles, drugs are a particular problem.

With the emerging effectiveness of Drug Testing in the workplace, in sports and in the military, the government took notice of the significant drop in drug use where random Drug Testing was being applied. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education funded U.S. High schools with a $1.7 million dollar award to put random Drug Testing in high schools across the country.  The result? A study done in 2006 shows there has been a 23% drop in high school students using illicit drugs in those schools that participated in random Drug Testing – that means some 840,000 fewer kids on drugs. That’s encouraging news. And it’s hard to dispute those kinds of numbers when searching for tools to fight drug abuse.

In Los Angeles, Drug Testing has become the weapon-of-choice for many parents who fear for their children’s safety. Some parents come to Drug Testing as a last resort when evidence of drug abuse is obvious and treatment is necessary. Others see it as a front line defense. Drug Testing in Los Angeles may be mandated by the Juvenile Court system, done privately through one of many Drug Testing facilities in Los Angeles, or through home Drug Testing kits. Whatever precipitates this step, it is never easily taken. Parents fear their children will feel they don’t trust them. However, as experts discovered in this sampling of Drug Testing high schools across the country, there is another factor at work here.

Peer pressure, when it comes to using or experimenting with drugs, can be every bit as powerful as it is in other areas of our children’s lives. Many children find it difficult to ‘just say no’ when their friends are doing drugs and asking them to join in, even if they want to say no. Even if you believe your child is not doing drugs, but is going to school in a climate of drug abusers, there may be good reason to incorporate random Drug Testing in your household.

Los Angeles tenth grader, Monica Rivers’ parents had been watching their beautiful daughter go from a straight A, soccer-playing charmer to a child they hardly recognized.  Monica began spending more and more time alone in her room. She claimed fatigue when it was time to play soccer and eventually dropped off the team she had loved. Her grades began to slip. Parent-teacher meetings revealed little except that Monica seemed to be going through something.  Monica’s symptoms seemed like a cry for help. Her parents feared she would balk at Drug Testing and accuse them of not trusting her–which, in fact, happened.  But they went to an accredited Los Angeles Drug Testing company, purchased a Drug Testing kit anyway, because they loved their daughter.

It turned out they were right about the drug abuse. She had, she admitted, been experimenting with marijuana and even tried some prescription drugs her friends brought to school. But to her parents’ surprise, she was immensely relieved to be able to stop the experimentation that she’d felt compelled by peer pressure to do. Monica was able to put the blame on her parents’ random Drug Tests to decline the girls who’d been pressuring her. Luckily for Monica, her parents intervened before her drug use got out of control. Today, Monica is playing soccer again and planning for college.

There are several types of Drug Testing available. Accredited drug-testing facilities in Los Angeles can do the testing for you or you can purchase home Drug Testing kits for in-home use. These tests are easy to use. The samples are either taken or sent by mail to the lab and the results mailed back.  Drug Testing consists of urine sample, oral fluid samples, sweat testing and hair testing. Drugs normally detected through any one of these samples, such as marijuana, opiates, cocaine, amphetamines and PCP remain in the body for a longer amount of time, than say, alcohol.  In Los Angeles, Drug Testing kits cost between $10 and $30. Ironically, parents often find that confessions come from their children on the way to the Drug Testing lab to deliver results, providing a unique opportunity for honest conversations at last between them.

The purpose of random drug testing by parents is not, as most assume, punitive. In Los Angeles, Drug Testing by parents who are concerned for their children’s welfare is an opportunity for communication if it is approached not as a punishment, or accusation, but as a way for our children to cope with the pressures in the world today.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/drug-testing-101-for-los-angeles-parents-683835.html

Larry Borsheim is a freelance writer with specialized knowledge in chemistry, DNA Testing and Drug Testing. Contact Larry at dnadrugtest@gmail.com for more information.

DoD labs test 60,000 urine samples each month. All active duty members must undergo a urinalysis at least once per year. Members of the Guard and Reserves must be tested at least once every two years. There are several protections built-in to the system to ensure accurate results.

First, individuals initial the label on their own bottles. The bottles are boxed into batches, and the test administrator begins a chain-of-custody document for each batch.

This is a legal document Everybody who has had something to do with that sample signs it - whether it be the observer who watched the person collect the sample, the person who puts it into the box or the person who takes it out of the box. There is always a written record of who those individuals are.

The chain-of-custody requirement continues in the lab as well. People who come in contact with each sample and what exactly they do to the sample are written on the document.

After arrival at the lab, samples then undergo an initial immunoassay screening (using the Olympus AU-800 Automated Chemistry Analyzer). Those that test positive for the presence of drugs at this point undergo the same screen once again. Finally, those that come up positive during two screening tests are put through a much more specific gas chromatography/mass spectrometry test. This test can identify specific substances within the urine samples.

Even if a particular drug is detected, if the level is below a certain threshold, the test result is reported back to the commander as negative.

DoD labs are equipped to test for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, LSD, opiates (including morphine and heroin), barbiturates and PCP. But not all samples are tested for all of these drugs.

Every sample gets tested for marijuana, cocaine and amphetamines, including ecstasy. Tests for other drugs are done at random on different schedules for each lab. Some laboratories do test every sample for every drug.

Commanders can request samples be tested for steroids. In this case, the samples are sent to the Olympic testing laboratory at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Commonly available substances such as golden seal and lasix are often touted as magical substances that can mask drugs in urine. In fact, they can make it easier to get caught. These substances are diuretics, so if they're taken before giving a urine sample they flush chemicals out of the body - right into the collection cup. Drugs are often more concentrated in the urine after a service member takes one of these substances.

And other "sure-fire" solutions are even worse for you. Some people drink vinegar. There are stories of some people drinking bleach. None of these will defeat the urinalysis test.

Over- the-counter cold medications and dietary supplements might cause a screening test to come up positive, but that the more specific secondary testing would positively identify the medication. In this case, the report that goes back to the commander says negative.

How the results of drug tests can be used legally, depends upon the reason for the urinalysis test.

Random Testing. By regulation, each military member must be tested at least once per year. Reserve members must be tested at least once every two years. This is done by means of "random testing." Basically, a commander can order that either all or a random-selected sample of his/her unit be tested, at any time. Results of random testing can be used in court-martials (Under Article 1128a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice), article 15s (nonjudicial punishment), and involuntary discharges. This includes using the results to determine service characterization (honorable, general, or other-than-honorable). Members do not have the right to refuse random testing. However, commanders cannot order specific individuals to take a "random" test. Those selected must be truly "random."

Medical Testing. This is testing which is accomplished in compliance with any medical requirements. Urinalysis tests given to new recruits falls under this category. As with Random Testing, results can be used in court-martials, article 15s, and involuntary discharges, to include service characterization. Members do not have a right to refuse medical testing in the military.

Probable Cause. If a commander has probable cause that a person is under the influence of drugs, the commander can request a search authorization from the Installation Commander, who is authorized to issue "military search warrants" after consultation with the JAG. Again, results of urinalysis tests obtained through search authorizations can be used in court-martials, article 15s, and involuntary discharges, including service characterization. Members cannot refuse to provide a urine sample which has been authorized by a military search warrant.

Consent. If a commander does not have probable cause, the commander can ask the member for "consent to search." If the member grants consent, the results of the urinalysis may be used in court-martials, article 15s, and involuntary discharges to include service characterization. Under this procedure, members do not have to grant consent.

Commander Directed. If a member refuses to grant consent, and if the commander does not have enough evidence to warrant a probable-cause search warrant, the commander may order the member to give a urine sample anyway. However, commander-directed urinalysis results may not be used for court-martial or article 15 purposes. The results MAY be used as a reason for involuntary discharge, but MAY NOT be used to determine service characterization. In other words, the member can be discharged, but what kind of discharge he/she receives (honorable, general, other-than-honorable) depends upon his/her military record (WITHOUT using the urinalysis results).

"Legal Steroids" are a safer alternative to black market anabolic steroids. Fact is, the ingredients can be so complex that testing is not yet advanced enough to detect these unique products. Legal Steroidal products do not contain traditional ingredients that would be common enough to test for. When being tested for anabolic steroids, they are testing you for an "exact" and specific chemical and Not just "steroids" in general.Unlike other drugs, steroids come in a are a wide variation of molecular combinations. In simplest terms, marijuana is marijuana, vicodin is always vicodin, morphine is always morphine,codeine etc etc. Anabolic Steroids can be: stanazol,testosterone,trenbolone,boldenone,fluoxymesterone,oxymetholone,oxandrolone.....and this is just naming a few. Now For every anabolic steroid out there, there have been developments in "precursors" or constituents of those specific anabolic steroids.Imagine there are 100 of those for every known anabolic steroid!! Although banned by most athletic committees, the products are not illegal under any state,local or federal laws. Legal Steroids are a much more effective method of musclebuilding than creatine or preotein shakes.The fact that they can be bought and sold legally is the bonus. or More Information, check out Muscle Labs USA !

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/muscle-building-articles/anabolic-steroids-military-drug-testing-4271675.html

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A few puffs on a joint may keep you high for a couple of hours maximum, but how long does pot show up on a drug test?  That couple of hours smoking pot can actually be detected in the body for weeks after, especially if you are a heavy user of marijuana.

Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC - enters the bloodstream quickly while smoking marijuana, and even if marijuana is eaten rather than smoked, it may take longer to be absorbed into the bloodstream, but still remains in the body long after.  Although it is not stored in the blood, THC is stored in body tissue and fat and can only be eliminated from the body via the urine and feces. Hence drug tests for marijuana are always urine tests not blood tests.

If you think you can fool a marijuana screening test, think again.  Although there are any number of herbal teas and products offered for sale that supposedly help marijuana users to pass a drug test, none of them work.  They all say they clean the system of marijuana, which if it involves drinking gallons of herbal teas or liquids as part of the cleanse, yes, to a minor extent they will help, but drinking ordinary water would also serve the same purpose. Many of these cleanses recommend you take them over a number of days, in which case the body would have eliminated some of the THC from the body anyway.

There are very few "false positive" results from urine tests for marijuana because the test involves two procedures, ending with a gas chromatograph test.

Some people try to beat the system by adding things to the urine, but labs are well aware of the use of eye drops, bleach and salt, often used to adulterate the urine.  The only way to pass a drug test is by using the urine of someone who doesn't use marijuana or any kind of drugs, and good luck trying to get that into a testing facility!

Most companies have workplace policies that include employment after the satisfactory submission of a drug screening test.  There's no way around it. If you want to get a good job and quit lying around on the sofa and getting high, the only thing you can do is stop smoking marijuana.  If you are a heavy user, don't expect to look for a job interview within the next couple ofmonths.

So how long does pot show up on a drug test?  It can be up to several weeks.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/addictions-articles/how-long-does-pot-show-up-on-a-drug-test-4901379.html

Learn more about the Effects Of Marijuana and College Pain Pill Abuse.