The Role of a Medical Review Officer

A Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a trained and certified licensed physician who is in charge of receiving, reviewing, and assessing laboratory results collected by a company's drug testing program, as well as considering medical justifications for specific drug test results.

The Process

After receiving lab results, The Medical Review Officer compares them to Copy 2 of the chain of custody that were obtained from the collection site. If an MRO lacks Copy 2 of the chain of custody, the result cannot be examined until this is received. This is the main cause of test results being delayed.

The Medical Review Officer checks the paperwork to make sure there are no critical flaws that would cause the test to be cancelled after the chain of custody documents are obtained and matched to the results. Negative test results are then communicated to TPA (Third party Administrator) or employers..

Duration

In the first 24 hours, the MRO must make three attempts to contact the donor. If the MRO is unable to reach the donor, they will usually notify the donor's employer that a conversation with the donor is necessary. The designated employer representative for the employer must then make three attempts by text, email, and phone to contact the donor within 24 hours, recording each attempt. Although the sample's transit may take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours, if the donor is hard to locate, it could take the MRO up to 96 hours to verify the test results, even when they obtain the initial results quickly by digital means.

Donor Contact

The MRO assesses the donor's willingness to disclose the test result during the confidential interview. The MRO must inform the donor during this interaction that the result will be reported as a positive or as a refusal to test due to adulteration or substitution, as appropriate, if the donor refuses to discuss the result.

The donor has 5 days to provide the prescription to the MRO if they indicate they are using one. The MRO then gets in touch with the pharmacist or doctor who is prescribing the medication to confirm that the prescription and dosage are in accordance with the concentration levels identified in the donor's sample. A negative outcome will be reported to the employer by the MRO if the prescription is confirmed.

This procedure can take up to two weeks because each step has a rule that must be followed in order to avoid delays.

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