What is a Medical Review Officer (MRO):
According to the Department of Transportation, a Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a person who is a licensed physician and is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
An MRO acts as an independent and impartial “gatekeeper” and an advocate for the accuracy and integrity of the drug testing process.
The MRO provides:
- Quality assurance review of the drug testing process for the specimens under their purview
- Determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for laboratory confirmed positive, adulterated, substituted and invalid drug test results
- Ensure the timely flow of test result and other information to employers and protect the confidentiality of the drug testing information.
What is a Designated Employer Representative (DER):
- Receive communications and test results from service agents.
- Remove employees from safety-sensitive duties.
- Make required decisions in the testing and evaluation processes.
- The DER must be an employee of the company. Service agents cannot serve as DERs.
What are the expected time frames for MRO reviewed laboratory test results?
Laboratory Testing Time:
The laboratory typically releases the test results within 24-72 hours from receiving the specimen. However, more comprehensive panels may require longer to be released.
MRO Processing:
I. Negative Laboratory Results:
The MRO will release negative results immediately with no need to contact the donor.
II. Positive Confirmed Laboratory Results:
A. Three Contact Attempts:
- The MRO will attempt to contact the donor 3 times within the first 24-48 hours of receiving the positive confirmed laboratory test.
B. If the MRO is Unsuccessful in Contacting Donor after Three attempts:
- for DOT Tests the MRO will:
- Contact the DER or collection site to see if there is an alternate number to reach the donor.
- Once the DER or collection site has been contacted regarding the alternate number, the MRO will place the result on a “10 day hold” (starting from the date of the 1st attempted call to the donor), if no contact has been made after the “10 day hold” then the MRO will release the result as positive.
- for Non-DOT Tests the MRO will:
- The specimen will be released as a positive drug test result.
C. After Contacting the Donor:
- Once contacted a donor will typically have 24 hours in order to get a valid prescription to a MRO (time frames can vary slightly depending on MRO)
*These are expected and typical times according the established protocol. These times may vary slightly due to uncontrollable circumstances.