Alcohol and drug testing for health care purposes

Alcohol and drug testing for health care purposes is carried out in connection with diagnosis, monitoring of treatment or, for example in cases of overdose. These tests should not have any social, financial or legal implications.  In some restricted cases, alcohol and drug testing for health care purposes may follow an easier procedure than what normally applies to alcohol and drug testing. All exceptions from the recommended procedure must be justified on a case-by-case basis.

There are, however, situations where alcohol and drug testing originally carried out for health care purposes may have serious social or legal implications for the person tested. For this reason it is important to confirm all positive test results using appropriate methods, and no entries of unconfirmed positive screening results should remain in the patient records.

Appropriate testing practices have been described in several guidelines, including a 2008 guideline on drug tests drawn up by a working group of experts in the field (Moodi 2/2008) as well as the Current Care guidelines on the treatment of patients with drug problems. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) are also drafting a recommendation describing the appropriate practices for requesting and processing drug tests as well as the role drug tests play in health care.