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It sounds like they may have done a standard urine sample panel in addition to the drug test. If only the drug test results were shared with the employer then the lab was just letting her know that there a few abnormalities and she should follow up on them. However if it was the employer that told her, then there is the possibility that they are screening potential employees for health conditions that may cost them in terms on having an employee who may be out often due to a health condition or someone who may utilize their insurance more than the average employee. It seems like shades of Gattaca
My friend had a test that came back negative but they advised she had sugar and protein in her urine? She never had that in her regular physicals? Do drug tests usually screen for that?
She SHOULD be screened for it in her regular physical. It is probable that she is but it was always "WNL" (within normal limits) or so slightly outside that the clinical judgement was to not bother mentioning it.
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Originally Posted by shellymdnv
It sounds like they may have done a standard urine sample panel in addition to the drug test. If only the drug test results were shared with the employer then the lab was just letting her know that there a few abnormalities and she should follow up on them.
However if it was the employer that told her, then there is the possibility that they are screening potential employees for health conditions that may cost them in terms on having an employee who may be out often due to a health condition or someone who may utilize their insurance more than the average employee. It seems like shades of Gattaca
This is all true. And if it is the employer reporting this, then it does indeed violate HIPPA and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) regulations.
I've personally had 2 done for different jobs. One used a third party lab and never told me anything, just heard from HR that i got the job. (incidentally, I've always wondered if the lab even ran the tests because both myself and a colleague were on prescription amphetamines and benzodiazapines yet no one said anything to us.)
The second one I had done at a hospital. They ran a urine panel w "Chem 7" (test for 7 illegal chemicals.) In a hospital setting, an illegal chemical test is often an automatic add on to the urinalysis and not a stand alone test. So i was not upset nor surprised with my results.
I also had protein in my urine and no one told me. I assume someone used their clinical judgement and figured it was "low enough." So OP, make sure your friend follows up with her doctor.
It sounds like they may have done a standard urine sample panel in addition to the drug test. If only the drug test results were shared with the employer then the lab was just letting her know that there a few abnormalities and she should follow up on them. However if it was the employer that told her, then there is the possibility that they are screening potential employees for health conditions that may cost them in terms on having an employee who may be out often due to a health condition or someone who may utilize their insurance more than the average employee. It seems like shades of Gattaca
^^^This really nails it.
Sugar/glucose in urine can be a symptom of diabetes and protein in urine can be a symptom of kidney problems. These results need to be followed up with a doctor as both can be serious.
I would think that test results for anything other than drugs would violate HIPAA. Potential employees go in thinking they're being tested for drugs, and give permission for those results to be shared with an employer. They do not give permission for other testing to be done, or results to be shared.
I wasnt under the impression her employer told her that, but the lab. No reason to think it was shared. Employers do not (I believe) get the actual test results, just whether the employee passed/failed the drug portion. To me it sounds like a sharp-eyed lab tech caught something that he didn't have to warn anyone about, but could save OP's life because he caught it.
I've personally had 2 done for different jobs. One used a third party lab and never told me anything, just heard from HR that i got the job. (incidentally, I've always wondered if the lab even ran the tests because both myself and a colleague were on prescription amphetamines and benzodiazapines yet no one said anything to us.)
There's levels for everything.. Marijuana metabolites show up.. It's an automatic fail. But if they detect codeine or something like that.. There is a therapeutic level that is acceptable without failing the test.
I actually had a drug test done when I was on prescription cough syrup.. It didn't show up at a high enough level to trigger a fail.
Some occupations, such as with truck driving.. Any level of those chemicals may trigger a fail, or at least require that the subject of the test provide a prescription to prove that they should be there.
It depends on the test and how specific it is. Also many times the labs use a cheap but less accurate test to screen and then a more expensive accurate test if they get a hit. Immunoassays are very cheap but prone to false positives as they are based on protein binding and proteins can bind stuff nonspecically or more than one compound. If they get a positive then they do a gas chromatography or liquid chromatography mass spectrometry which is very conclusive (you get two dimensions of specificity, how long it takes a given compound to travel through the separatory system and what pattern it forms when the molecule is broken to pieces).
It is also possible for a test to see compounds you aren't testing for with chromatography. The results show another compound is present and when one looks at the pattern one can see it is a sugar.
My friend had a test that came back negative but they advised she had sugar and protein in her urine? She never had that in her regular physicals? Do drug tests usually screen for that?
No, a urine drug screen does NOT detect glucose or protein in urine. If your friend had a general urine test as part of the screening, it may show, but many things can cause inaccurate readings.
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