Medical Review Officer (MRO)
ScreenSafe UK offer a complete and qualified Medical Review service giving definitive conclusions, needs assessment and expert witness testimony where required.
The role of the Medical Review Officer is to review and interpret laboratory results obtained through a company's drug and alcohol testing program. An essential element of drug testing is a mechanism for a medical review of the results where applicable. That mechanism is the Medical Review Officer (MRO). The MRO's role is an important safeguard in the testing process. The MRO practice is a specialty area that requires technical knowledge, professional judgment, interpersonal skills, and an understanding of legal issues.
The MRO is usually a G.P. (or similar) who has a sound knowledge of substance abuse disorders and has appropriate medical training to interpret and evaluate an individual's positive test result with his or her medical history and any other relevant biomedical information (such as dietary intake). An MRO is different from a Forensic Toxicologist (which we also offer) although their expertise and involvement can often overlap where interpretation of drug and alcohol test results are involved.
The MRO assures:
- respect for personal confidentiality and dignity of the donor
- maintenance of the confidentiality of medical information, except when public safety is jeopardized
- maintenance of high scientific and medical standards
It is anticipated that the role of the MRO will change with time. New drugs and patterns of substance abuse may emerge that mandate innovative approaches to the detection of substance abuse and establish new roles for MROs. It is therefore very important that MROs regularly update their knowledge and develop their role appropriately. If you wish to train as an MRO, or if you wish your staff to train as MROs then we are happy to recommend certain training courses.
An example of when an MRO may be required is where a positive result was issued for Opiates and the result was consistent with medication not declared. It would be the MRO that then interviews the person to determine whether the results are indeed from a medication, what that medication was and whether it was prescribed/taken legitimately etc.
For more information then please contact our friendly and professional customer service team on 08450 505590 or via email (enquiries@screensafeuk.co.uk).
