HIPAA & Employer Drug Testing Policies

[Guest crs]

How does HIPAA affect an employer's drug testing policy?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

crs

[Steve72]

It depends on the policy.

If drug testing is performed on-site, by a clinic or employee physician, the clinic/physician MAY constitute a covered entity under HIPAA and be subject to all requirements.

However, if the drug testing is done off-site, the employer will need to follow whatever requirements the off-site facility requires. If results are sent directly to the employer, the employer will probably need to require employees to execute an authorization to release the results on a form acceptable to the drug testing facility.