Drug and Alcohol Testing

Reliable Drug and Alcohol Testing in Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Merced counties

For those whose employers (be it active or prospective) require a drug and/or alcohol test before resuming or commencing employment, our facilities at Pinnacle Healthcare are equipped to test for any alcoholic or illegal substances. These tests may be required for your employer as part of their risk management protocol, and we are here to help and provide a variety of testing measures to choose from.

For more information about our testing options, contact one of our office locations today.

Testing Options Available

At Pinnacle Healthcare we collect different types of specimens for our different types of drug and alcohol screenings:

• DOT drug screening - DOT (Department of Transportation) testing is catered to employees that are conducting safety-sensitive duties, and these screenings adhere to federal-level regulations. These can include workers such as truck drivers, pilots, school-bus drivers, subway and train operators, pipeline emergency response crew members, aircraft maintenance workers, ship captains, among other occupations of the sort. This screening is to ensure the safety of the workers as well as the general public. This drug screening exclusively uses urine collection and testing to test for illegal substances that can potentially put the people they are serving/servicing in jeopardy.

• Non-DOT drug screening - This type of screening is for all other occupations that are not regulated by the U.S Department of Transportation, and while they may have some federal laws to adhere to, most of the regulations are at a state or local level. Since each employer has its drug testing policy implemented, the timing, frequency, and even the specimen to be tested can all vary from company to company. While some drug testing uses the 5-panel test just like the DOT screening, additional substances such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates can also be tested for, depending on your employer’s policy.
• 5-9-10 panel rapid testing - The 5-panel test is considered the most cost-effective option and is also the type of screening that the DOT tests use. They serve to detect marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, and PCP. The 9-panel test also targets the same five drugs of the 5-panel option, plus methadone, methamphetamines, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates. The 10-panel test looks for the same drugs as the 5-panel screening, plus barbiturates, benzodiazepines, methadone, methamphetamines, and propoxyphene.
• Breath alcohol test - This test measures the amount of alcohol that comes out of the air you’re breathing out, since alcohol gets absorbed into your bloodstream and goes throughout different parts of your body, including the lungs. The test is considered positive if the blood alcohol content is 0.2 or above, and depending on the regulations of your employer or from the Department of Transportation, the actions or consequences that follow may vary.
• Saliva testing - Saliva testing uses a mouth swab to grab a specimen from the side of your cheek, particularly to see if the test can detect any metabolites within the sample. Like most other drug tests, the timeline in which the drug may be detected varies with each substance. This type of screening can be used for all sorts of reasons, from pre-employment, to post-accident, to random testing.
• Hair follicle testing - This type of testing is gaining notoriety for its ability to provide a longer detection time frame. With its up to the 90-day window of detection of patterned substance abuse, this option is much harder to maneuver through, whether it be by stopping drug use before your screening appointment or trying to substitute and cheat your way out from an accurate test.

Contact one of our Pinnacle Healthcare offices today for more information regarding our testing options.