All correspondence must be made through the Vendor Portal. Specifications include, but are not limited to: The selected vendor will be responsible for following the general requirements listed below for all drug testing services. a. Results of all negative drug and DOT alcohol tests must be sent via email or fax or made available via the vendor’s website for online access to the authorized District employees within 24 to 48 hours. b. For drug testing services, the services of an MRO will be required. The MRO will provide services as specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Such services should include, but are not limited to, administrative review of drug-test results; consultation with toxicologist on questionable results; distribution of reports and other documents; and review of laboratory blindsample test results. The MRO will first follow up a positive drug test result by contacting the employee or candidate being tested, after which time he or she will telephone said results to the authorized District representative; written confirmations must follow within 48 hours of notification. c. The selected vendor will be required to maintain a strict chain-of custody procedure to ensure confidentiality, privacy, and uncontaminated samples. d. The person being tested will complete a consent form prior to testing (not for DOT), which will include a space for the employee or candidate to list each medication that he or she is currently taking. e. For non-DOT drug testing services, split samples are available at the candidates’ request. For DOT drug testing services, split samples are required. A chain-of-custody procedure must be in place for all split sampling. f. Vendor’s facilities must contain a clean room for the collection of samples. g. For drug testing services, a procedure must exist to ensure that the sample temperature and observation of the color of the specimen is documented at the time of collection. h. For DOT alcohol-testing services, the Breathalyzer alcohol test will be conducted using an evidential breath-testing device approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. i. The vendor’s laboratory must be certified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), formerly known as NIDA. j. Laboratory technicians who perform the analyses must have experience in forensic toxicology and testing for abused drugs. k. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry is to be used as a confirmatory test for an initial positive immunoassay drug screen. l. For drug testing services, cut-off levels established by DHHS will be used to determine a positive drug test. m. Samples from positive tests will be frozen and maintained for a period of one year. All correspondence must be made through the Vendor Portal.
