Hospitals offer varying resources and expertise which facilitate the diagnoses and treatment of diseases. However, will a hospital drug test me? Hospitals provide care quickly and without explanation. Knowing what to expect can help you in coping while in the hospital. Understanding the way hospitals work can help people feel less intimidated during diagnosis. Furthermore, you can take more control, and confidence when in the hospital.
People go to the hospital when influenced by a life-threatening problem (such as a heart attack). You may also get admission for less severe conditions that cannot be adequately treated in another place. A doctor oversees your medical condition, examining whether it’s serious enough to warrant admission.
What are the main goals of hospitalization?
To ensure bodily balance so that people can return home. Therefore, hospital admission is meant to be temporal and to enable people to safely go back home. However, is drug testing a primary goal of hospitalization? While hospitals drug test new patients, it’s not in all cases.
For many people, hospital admission starts by visiting the emergency department. Understanding when and how to visit an emergency department is important. In the emergency department, you may get a drug test to confirm your condition. If you are unconscious, the hospital may drug test you without consent. However, for children, the hospital will require the consent of parents before drug testing.
Drug testing in the hospital
A frequent question that we hear nowadays is ‘will hospital drug test me?’ When you visit a hospital as a patient you may unknowingly be drug tested. Hospital emergency rooms drug test most patients depending on their mental status, or appearance.
A hospital drug test is like a drug screen, which means it doesn’t involve a GC/MS test for confirmation. Hospitals utilize a 9-panel drug screen which is less superior to 5-panel drug screens. 5-panel drug screens are common in drug testing facilities. Hospitals don’t check drug metabolites levels in your system. They mostly check for drug presence, which means any drug in your system counts as positive results.
The class of drugs that hospital drug tests screen include:
- Amphetamine
- Barbiturate
- Benzodiazepine
- Cannabinoid (Marijuana)
- Phencyclidine (PCP)
- Tricyclic (Antidepressants)
- Cocaine
- Methadone
- Opiates
The different methods to drug test individuals in the hospital will mostly depend on your condition. Doctors will not guarantee the methods of usage. However, these methods are accurate and are considered presumptive.
When hospitals drug test you, the result can either be negative or positive. A positive drug test can be detrimental to you in the future. This type of ‘Hospital Urine Drugs of Abuse Screen’ will remain in your hospital fields. The hospital can use it against you if a court requests your hospital file in case of an impending case against you. Note that companies offering workers’ compensation insurance must conduct drug tests on their employees. This is to prove that you are responsible for your own injury and not the company.
Bottom line
So, will a hospital drug test me? The answer is yes. If you test positive for drugs the company will stop paying your medical bills. In fact, in many cases, you will immediately be terminated from work.
