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STAFFING
another supervisor or manager. Trusting your instincts is key, but validating your worries is incredibly important, especially when dealing
with something as serious as substance abuse. Deciding to act on
your suspicions is harder than you think, and shouldn't be done alone.
3. Confront. Once you've decided to confront a suspected substance
abuser, ask for support from your risk manager or another facility
supervisor. Contact an outsourcing lab or local hospital's emergency
room to schedule an immediate "reasonable cause" drug test. Inform
the suspect employee that you've scheduled a drug test and that failure
to undergo the test could result in termination, then have them sign a
consent form. You or another supervisor should drive the employee to
the test site. (You're liable if you observe them under the influence and
they get in an accident while driving to the appointment; don't put
their safety and your legal liability at risk.) Cover the employee's shift,
keeping all information about the drug test confidential.
4. Test. A practitioner certified in drug-screening procedures should
obtain blood or urine samples because any mistakes made during the
testing will negate the result, making it inadmissible in court. Never
attempt to obtain specimens at your facility.
Drugs tested for during routine screenings include amphetamines,
barbituates, cocaine, canabanoids (marijuana), opiates, phencyclidine
(PCP), benzodiazipines, methadone and propoxyphene. If the drug
F E B R U A R Y 2013 | O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
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