Medical Review Officer (MRO)
A Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a licensed physician responsible for reviewing and interpreting drug test results in workplace drug testing programs. Their role is critical in ensuring accuracy, compliance, and fairness in the drug testing process.
Healthy Minds Offer Full Time MROs for Fast Efficient Report
- Review all specimens reported as positive, adulterated, substituted, invalid, or rejected for testing, and report the verified result to the employer or Federal agency;
- Ensure that specimens reported as negative or as negative and dilute are properly reviewed (i.e., at least 5% personally and the remainder by staff under the MRO’s direct, personal supervision) and reported to the employer or Federal agency;
- Discuss potential invalid results with the laboratory to determine whether further testing at another HHS-certified laboratory is warranted;
- Conduct or facilitate a medical evaluation of the donor when a collector reports that the donor was unable to provide a urine specimen;
- Perform an initial investigation of problems identified in the drug testing process and notify the employer and appropriate regulatory authority of findings;
- Monitor the frequency of errors and notify responsible parties to take corrective action to prevent recurrence; and
- Maintain records and confidentiality of drug test information.
MRO Review And Verification Of Drug Test Results
The MRO review and medical explanation verification in the drug testing program prevents an employee from being labeled as a drug user with a positive drug test result in situations where the employee is taking legally prescribed medication. All employees with a positive drug test will be called by the MRO and asked about any medical explanation for a positive drug test result.
There is, however, a public safety issue associated with information that a donor may provide to an MRO during the review of a test result. That is, the donor may be taking a legal prescription medication as treatment for a medical condition and the medication may have possible side effects that may impair the mental and/or physical abilities required for the performance of potentially hazardous tasks (e.g., driving a car or truck, operating machinery)
In this situation, the MRO will provide a notation to the employer on the drug test result indicating a safety concern. This will allow the employer to take the steps necessary to insure safety.
Web Portal for MRO Drug test results
The Portal
All drug testing for employers is performed by SAMHSA certified laboratories and lab test results are sent electronically to the Healthy Minds web portal for review and verification by the Medical Review Officer (MRO) team. Access to all pending and final results is available in our secure online portal.
Test results are not made available to employer representatives until the MRO completes their review and release the final result. For negative results, there is an automated review in our system as long as no exceptions are present. For non-negative results, the MRO review and verification process is completed via phone conversation with the applicant or employee. This secure and confidential conversation is held in compliance with 49 CFR Part 40 regulations.
Negative results are typically reported within 1 – 2 business days from time laboratory receives specimen. Non-negative results are reported as soon as the MRO completes the review and verification which begins same day the result is received from the lab.
MRO reviewed final drug test results are released in the web portal for employer review by authorized contacts of the employer. All users in the web portal must have unique log on credentials. Usually, it is the company Designated Employer Representative (DER) that receives the drug test results and corresponds with the MRO.
Why Choose Healthy Minds for Employer Drug Testing and MRO!
- Electronic drug testing process and web portal for MRO reviewed drug test results
- MRO process eliminates possibility of a false positive
- MRO deals with applicant or employee legally prescribed medications
- MRO process provides for a legally defensible drug test result
- Customer service is part of our mission and is awesome
- Full time MRO’s with certifications from American Association of Medical Review Officers, Inc. (AAMRO) and Medical Review Officer Certification Council (MROCC)