Frequently Used Terms by Medical Review Officers (MROs)
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AAMRO: the American Association of Medical Review Officers is a nationally recognized MRO certification board

Adulterant: a substance added to a urine specimen to mask drug usage

Blind Proficiency: A specimen submitted to a laboratory for quality control testing purposes, with a fictitious identifier, so that the laboratory cannot distinguish it from an employee specimen.

Chain of Custody: The procedure used to document the handling of the urine specimen from the time the employee gives the specimen to the collector until the specimen is destroyed. This procedure uses the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF).

Collection Site: A place selected by the employer where employees present themselves for the purpose of providing a specimen for a drug test.

Collector: A person who instructs and assists employees at a collection site, who receives and makes an initial inspection of the specimen provided by those employees, and who initiates and completes the Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control Form (CCF).

Creatinine: a normal alkaline constituent of urine and blood

Employee Assistance Plan: Employee benefit that covers all or part of the cost for employees to receive counseling, referrals, and advice in dealing with stressful issues in their lives.

Endogenous: produced or arising from a cell or organism

Exogenous: originating from outside the body

FTP: File Transfer Protocol is a common method of moving files between two Internet sites

GCMS: Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry is a method that combines the features of gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify different substances within a test sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection. The GC-MS has been widely heralded as a “gold standard” for forensic substance identification because it is used to perform a specific test. A specific test positively identifies the actual presence of a particular substance in a given sample.

Immunoassay: A method of analysis based on antigen-antibody interactions, which allows for small concentrations of biologically active compounds to be measured accurately

MRO: the Medical Review Officer is a licensed physician who functions as an objective gatekeeper of laboratory test results, reviewing the documents for possible errors; interviewing donors who have non-negative results and determining if prescription medicine use or other alternative medical explanations clarify these results; and providing feedback to employers, collection sites, laboratories, and federal agency representatives regarding performance problems if necessary.

MROCC: the Medical Review Officer Certification Council is a nationally recognized MRO certification board

NIDA: the National Institute on Drug Abuse was established in 1974, and in October 1992 it became part of the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute is organized into divisions and offices, each of which plays an important role in programs of drug abuse research.

SAMHSA: the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s mission is to build resilience and facilitate recovery for people with or at risk for substance abuse and mental illness.

Substance Abuse Professional: A person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol regulation