National Drug Screening works with collection facilities across the United States that collect hair specimens for hair drug testing. Collecting hair specimens is much different from performing analysis of hair specimens, the actual testing is done at national laboratories. An advance hair drug test order is required before visiting a collection facility for a hair test.
Check out the short hair drug testing video above.
The process at the hair drug test collection site is as follow:
- Collect – Cut a small sample of hair from the crown area of the head; hair is typically cut from the head or from the arms or legs if there is no head hair (does it matter how long the hair is?
- Package – Place the hair specimen in foil inside the envelope
- Document – Seal the envelope and complete the chain of custody process
- Ship – Package the specimen, envelope, and forms, and arrange transportation to the laboratory
Once hair specimens are collected the specimens are sent to one of our national laboratory partners:
- Quest Diagnostics
- LabCorp
- Expertox
Hair drug testing detects drugs that are embedded in the hair. Drug and drug metabolite(s) are incorporated into the hair matrix from the bloodstream following drug use.
Quest Diagnostics
At a hair tests are performed daily with up to a 90-day drug use history. Hair test panels available include the 5-panel hair drug test and the 5 panel plus expanded opiates hair drug test.
The 5-panel test can be ordered online and includes Cocaine, marijuana, opiates (Codeine, Morphine & 6-MAM Heroin Metabolite), amphetamines (Methamphetamine & Ecstasy), and phencyclidine (PCP).
The 5 panel plus expanded opiates hair drug test can be ordered online and includes all the above plus the expanded opiates of Oxymorphone, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Hydromorphone.
LabCorp
At LabCorp there are additional and expanded hair test panels available due to LabCorp working with partner laboratories United States Drug Testing Laboratories (USDTL) and Psychemedics.
All of LabCorp’s hair testing panels can be ordered online. Some common hair drug testing panels available from Labcorp include the traditional 5 panel and 5 panel plus expanded opiates, along with a 7 panel, 9 panel, 12 panel and 14 panel.
These expanded panels can be ordered online and include drugs of abuse including propoxyphene, cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines (methamphetamine & ecstasy), phencyclidine (PCP), opiates (Codeine, Morphine & 6-MAM Heroin Metabolite, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Hydromorphone), Barbiturates, Benzodiazepines, Methadone, Tramadol, Sufentanil, Fentanyl and Meperidine.
Expertox
Not as much of a recognized brand as Quest and LabCorp, Expertox is a specialty lab and provides testing for many hair testing panels not available from Labcorp or Quest.
A test commonly ordered from Expertox is the EtG alcohol test. The Ethyl Glucuronide (EtG) Hair Alcohol Test measures any alcohol consumption for up to 90 days. It does not measure current impairment. This EtG test can be ordered online and is common for zero tolerance alcohol abstinence programs, court ordered programs and DUI programs.
Also popular from Expertox is the Unknown Substance Analysis – this is performed when a person finds a pill, powder or other substance that they suspect is a drug, or an unknown stain or specimen that needs to be identified as biological or not.
Consultants are standing by at 866-843-4545 to help you with your needs for specialty testing from Expertox.
Partnership
National Drug Screening (NDS) is proud to be affiliated with Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and Expertox.
Working with a variety of lab partners insures that NDS can offer a variety of drug testing services to our clients that include employers, individuals, court systems and attorneys. These labs do a great job at with the analysis and testing, National Drug Screening takes care of you with great customer service.
