2
Key Points
Recommendations in this document are not intended to substitute for independent
clinical judgement based on the particular facts and circumstances presented by
individual patients.
Î The dramatic proliferation of potentially addictive drugs is one of the
most challenging problems facing drug testing today*.
Î No universal standard exists in clinical drug testing for addiction
identification, diagnosis, treatment, medication monitoring, or
recovery.
Î The purpose of this Drug Testing pocket guide is to provide guidance
on the effective use of drug testing in the identification, diagnosis,
treatment and promotion of recovery for patients with, or at risk for,
addiction.
Î It is intended for use by providers who utilize drug testing in clinical
settings and healthcare administrators in residential, outpatient, and
other settings.
Î Inappropriate use of drug testing is both wasteful and unethical.
Examples include:
• The routine use of large, arbitrary test panels.
• Unnecessarily frequent drug testing without consideration for the drug's window
of detection.
• The confirmation and quantification of all presumptive positive and negative test
results.
Î Unlike clinical practice guidelines, which typically focus on disease-
specific treatment recommendations, this pocket guide focuses on
recommendations for where, when, and how often a drug test should
be performed.
Î This ASAM Drug Testing pocket guide is intended to aid clinicians
in their clinical decision-making and patient management. It strives
to identify and define clinical decision-making junctures that meet
the needs of most patients in most circumstances. Clinical decision-
making should involve consideration of the quality and availability of
expertise and services in the community wherein care is provided. In
circumstances in which the Drug Testing pocket guide is being used as
the basis for regulatory or payer decisions, improvement in quality of
care should be the goal.
* ASAM Drug Testing : A White Paper of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Chevy
Chase, MD: American Society of Addiciton Medicine; 2013. Available at: http://www.asam.
org/docs/default-source/public-policy-statements/drug-testing-a-white-paper-by-asam.pdf
