Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Is Retail the Place for Employee Drug Screens and Other Occ Med Testing?

MinuteClinic has made its name by giving customers shots and offering immediate care for low-acuity infections (ie, those for which prescriptions can be dispensed within the store). Now, however, it has announced a plan to partner with Alere eScreen to provide occupational medicine-type services for employers—most notably, including drug screens. The plan is to contract with companies who will send their workers to the CVS-operated clinics for biometric screenings, vaccinations, and Department of Transportation physicals, …

Occ Med Providers: Workers Are Failing Drug Tests More Often

More American workers are failing tests for illegal drugs these days than in many years. Quest Diagnostics reports that 4.2% of the 8.9 million employee drug tests it administered last year came back positive; that’s the highest rate since 2004. Marijuana remains the most prevalent, though other drugs are also on the rise. This is especially surprising, given the fact that so many states have looser laws on marijuana use for medical or recreational purposes. …