New Hours of Operation for American Toxicology Sahara Location

Longer Hours for American Toxicology

Our Sahara location is now open

Monday - Saturday from 7:30am to 9:00pm

New American Toxicology Sign for Sunrise Office

It used to be that nearly 80% of our phone calls during the day were in regards to directions to our office.  Since we have installed the new sign on the building we have noticed a dramatic decrease in phone calls for directions only.... now we are probably about 60% of the phone calls are about directions.  But, that's alright, we welcome the phone calls : )   My opinion:  Everyone (who has a job) should have a smart phone.  They make life so much easier.

Find us at: 3340 Sunrise Ave Suite 105
                 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Drug Testing Policies

American Toxicology offers services in assisting clients in writing their drug testing policies. It is not uncommon to review a policy and find it deficient in a number of areas. Some are so deficient that it is recommended that the whole policy be rewritten. Unfortunately, some clients have paid a considerable amount of money for their policies which were written by someone else and marketed to be tailored to their needs. An employer, not knowing where to go, can be easily convinced with legal jargon and marketing hype that it is their best interest to buy a policy from someone “who knows what they are doing”.

Well, this is the American way and I can’t be too critical toward someone seeing an opportunity. However, selling drug testing policies is a relatively new enterprise. Some laboratories have been assisting employers with drug testing since the days of the Nixon Administration when it all began. I cannot specifically speak for other laboratories, but American Toxicology is willing to assist clients in this area at no charge. It is in our best interest to have clients with good drug testing policies.

Basically, a good policy must have two competent components – the company and the laboratory. No matter how competent one of them may be, if the other one is not, the policy will fail to give protection from liability. Drug testing is a team effort between the company and the laboratory. Unfortunately, some employers are very loose on this philosophy, until they get themselves into litigation. Then things change rather rapidly.

I have seen policies, especially in the gaming industry, where the competency of one or both of these components are lacking to the point that the drug testing conducted only works if it does not go to court. The main motivation for an employer to knowingly have such a program is to reduce costs. These companies literally operate on the edge. To them, drug testing is viewed primarily as a public relations expense. There is little fear of legal reprisal.

American Toxicology’s motto is that we only do that which we will win in court. We have had to make some tough decisions concerning this position. However, we feel it is a worthy standard to hold.

Failing a drug test.

Believe it or not we have quite a few people who come into our collection sites un-prepared to give a good sample. Stumbled across this cartoon and thought it was funny.

People come in with fake urine, in liquid or powder form. We catch them all weather it's at the collection site or the lab. At the collection site we measure the temperature of the urine immediately after the sample is given (no flushing or washing hands until after the sample is triple checked for patient validity). If somehow the sample "passes" by us at the collection site as real... Our qualified laboratory technitians love to catch the fake samples. Before conducting the tests they can typically tell weather the samples are false or valid. Certain things that tip them off are color and smell. So if don't even think about trying to give a false sample to American Toxicology, cause we'll catch it.

Certifications and Accreditations

State of Nevada Licensed Laboratory Director, Gary Telgenhoff, M.S., D.O., is a board certified forensic and anatomical pathologist who serves as ATI’s Lab director. Additionally, ATI holds the following licenses, and permits:

• State of Nevada Licensed Laboratory
  
  
• Nevada State Corporation
  
  
• City of North Las Vegas Business License
  
  
• City of Las Vegas Business License
  
  
• City of Reno Business License
  
  
• Arizona State Corporation
  
  
• City of Bullhead Business License

Services Offered

Pre-employment Screening
American Toxicology offers a variety of tests & Panels for applicant screening. We can customize your testing & billing arrangements to best suit your needs.

Results
Results are delivered using a secure method designed to protect both the client and the laboratory. At the option of the client, results may be received by telephone, fax, mail, email, or delivery by courier under this design.

On-site training
American Toxicology offers free training for managers & supervisors designed for early identification of potential employee drug involvement. The training focuses on recognition of symptoms of drug use & detection when use or the effects of use is occurring on the job. Included in this is the right way to determine probable cause. The intent of the training is to provide management with a likely & reassuring drug free work environment.

Post Accident/Probable Casue Testing
American Toxicology can collect or receive a test sample on-site, at a hospital emergency room or urgent care clinic, or employees can be sent or brought directly to American Toxicology for collection. Samples for drug/alcohol testing include urine, blood, breath or saliva. All testing is performed at American Toxicology, in-house.

Random Testing
Random testing is available at any time with our Random Sampling Program. Collections can be obtained at the employer’s site or at any one of our collection facilities.

Mission Statement

We're dedicated to the reliability of our services, and the integrity of our clients and community. We establish and maintain confidentiality in caring for those indivduals who entrust us with their careers and families.

The Only Drug Testing Laboratory In Las Vegas, Nevada

For over 25 years American Toxicology has been specializing in Employee and Forensic drug testing.

As far as laboratories fully dedicated to drug testing goes, we've been the only lab in Nevada that is soley dedicated to drug testing.

Quest Diagnostics once had a drug testing laboratory here in Las Vegas, but have moved it out to of state to California. Which means that all of the drug testing samples taken here in Las Vegas at any of the Quest locations will be be sent out of state to conduct the actual specimen testing. We honor Quest for their quality qork and the many collection locatioins they have within the Las Vegas area.

However when it comes to turn around time here in Las Vegas... we have the fastest lab results in the area, as any local laboratory should. With our online reporting, our clients can receive their results within 2-6 hours!

It's only been within the last four months that we have started branching out to other collection sites, offering them our drug testing laboratory services. Several local Las Vegas business owners have taken advantage of our laboratory services.



We have also been testing hair for a number of "out of state" collection sites. We have people sending us their hair for testing from:

California

Oregon

New Mexico

Texas

Oklahoma

Missouri

Arkansas

Kansas

Georgia

Wyoming

Utah

Idaho

Montana

Colorado

And the list keeps growing every week.

If you would like more information about our drug testing laboratory services call (702) 452-4999 and ask for Ben or Beau. Or e-mail ben@atilab.com

American Toxicology Mapped Locations

For Maps and directions to American Toxicology collection sites click on the links below.

North Side

South Side

East Side

Bullhead City

Reno

Hair Testing and Urine Testing

Urine has always been an effective method of drug testing. However the test typically only reaches as far back as 9 to 10 days. On the other hand, Hair Testing can detect past months of usage.

The results below are based on companies of varying sizes and show the difference in the testing of urine and hair. American Toxicology believes that the best fingerprint of drug use is obtained by testing both hair and urine. The following illustrates the comparisons between hair and urine testing of four of our clients.

Company 1: # of total tests: 10,558

Drug……………….Pos/Urine…………..Pos/Hair
Amphetamines…………29…………………….158
Cocaine………………...256…………………...730
Heroin………………….0………………………...0
PCP…………………….1………………………...2

Company 2: # of total tests: 3,953

Drug……………….Pos/Urine…………..Pos/Hair
Amphetamines…………12………………………50
Cocaine………………...11…………………........28
Heroin………………….1…………………….…...1
PCP…………………….0………………………....0

Company 3: # of total tests: 209

Drug……………….Pos/Urine…………..Pos/Hair
Amphetamines…………0………………………....3
Cocaine………………...1…………………............7
Heroin………………….0…………………….…...1
PCP…………………….0………………………....0

Company 4: # of total tests: 52

Drug……………….Pos/Urine…………..Pos/Hair
Amphetamines…………0…………………………1
Cocaine………………...1…………………............3
Heroin………………….0………………………....0
PCP…………………….0………………………....0

Results indicate that hair and urine testing is far superior tot urine testing alone in identifying drug users attempting to become employed. Over 2/3 of the applicants testing positive by hair would have passed the urine test and became part of the employee population. Marijuana is not shown in this example because it is best detected in the urine.

Because it takes approximately a week for ingested drugs to show up in hair above the scalp, American Toxicology strongly suggests using both urine & hair testing for a complete history of drug usage to help maintain a drug-free work environment. Studies continue to show that marijuana (THC) is best detected in urine. THC is a fat soluble drug that stays in the body much longer than any of the hard drugs. As a result, the body will shed THC for weeks or even months. Once again, for optimal results American Toxicology strongly recommends a Hair & Urine test for all clients.

Drug testing methodologies

He is some information from Wikipedia about drug testing methodologies.

The different types of drug tests are tested in very similar ways. Before testing the sample, the tamper-evident seal is checked for integrity. If it appears to have been tampered with or was damaged in transit, the laboratory rejects the sample and does not test it.

One of the first steps for all drug tests is to make the sample testable. Urine and oral fluid can be used "as is" for some tests, but other tests require the drugs to be extracted from urine beforehand. Strands of hair, patches, and blood must be prepared before testing. Hair is washed in order to eliminate second-hand sources of drugs on the surface of the hair, then the keratin is broken down using enzymes. Blood plasma may need to be separated by centrifuge from blood cells prior to testing. Sweat patches are opened up and the sweat collection component is soaked in a solvent to dissolve any drugs present.

Laboratory-based drug testing is done in a two-tiered fashion using two different types of detection methods. The first is known as the screening test, and this is applied to all samples that go through the laboratory. The second, known as the confirmation test, is only applied to samples that test positive during the screening test. Screening tests are usually done by immunoassay (EMIT, ELISA, and RIA are the most common). A "dipstick" drug testing method which could at some future time provide screening test capabilities to field investigators has been developed at the University of Illinois.^[3] Screening tests are typically less sensitive and more prone to false positives and false negatives than the confirmation test.

After a suspected positive sample is detected during screening, the sample is flagged and tested using the confirmation test. Samples that are negative on the screening test are discarded and reported as negative. The confirmation test in most laboratories (and all SAMHSA certified labs) is performed using mass spectrometry, and is extremely precise but also fairly expensive to run. False positive samples from the screening test will be negative on the confirmation test. Samples testing positive during both screening and confirmation tests are reported as positive to the entity that ordered the test. Most laboratories save positive samples for some period of months or years in the event of a disputed result or lawsuit. For workplace drug testing, a positive result is generally not confirmed without a review by a Medical Review Officer that will normally interview the subject of the drug test.

Visit American Toxicology to see which methodologies we use.

Saliva drug screen / Oral fluid-based drug screen

Saliva / oral fluid-based drug tests can generally detect use during the previous few days. Saliva or oral fluid based drug tests are becoming more prevalent because of their convenience and the fact that they can not be adulterated. Furthermore, on-site oral based tests in particular enable the implementation of random testing programs, proven to be the most effective type of drug screening. Oral fluid based tests are as accurate as urine and can be obtained from suppliers in the United States. Testing is usually performed by employers, for either pre-employment, random, post-accident, reasonable suspicion, or return-to-duty testing. Oral fluid based testing most closely mimics results found with blood and is preferable for detecting on-the-job drug use or in post-accident applications in this case because the degree of intoxication can be approximated based on the amount of substance.

Detection in saliva tests begins immediately upon use:

• Marijuana and hashish (THC): An hour after ingestion, and up to 24 hours depending on use.
• Cocaine (including crack): From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.
• Opiates: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days
• Methamphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA, "crank," "ice"): From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days.
• Benzodiazepines: From time of ingestion up to 2 to 3 days

This helpful information was provided by Wikipedia.

For all saliva testing American Toxicology is partnered with Isaac Farrel who runs Lab Express another business in Las Vegas who handles a large portion of the cities swab testing.

Sweat drug screen

Although the sweat test is pretty cool, American Toxicology does not provide them. Here is some helpful information about the sweat drug test from wikipedia.

Sweat tests are patches attached to the skin to collect sweat over a long period of time (10–14 days). These are almost exclusively used by child protective services, parole departments, and other government institutions concerned with drug use over long periods, when urine testing is not practical. The patches have security features that keep them from being covertly removed and then reapplied without the knowledge of the testing agency. At the end of the test period, the patch is removed by a social worker or parole officer and sent to a lab for analysis. If the person has used any drugs during the period that the patch was in place, they will test positive for that drug. This type of testing has fallen out of favor with government agencies due to documented problems with certain drugs^[2].
This information was provided by wikipedia.

Sampling for Hair Follicle Drug Testing

How to effectivly collect a hair sample for drug testing according to American Toxicology Laboratory in Las Vegas, Nevada.






Visit the official American Toxicology Website

The patient in this exmple is a worker in our laboratory.

A BRIEF COMMENTARY ON URINE DRUG TESTING

Laboratories may be involved with testing biological samples for the presence of drugs for the diagnosis and monitoring of the overdosed patient (clinical testing) and for workplace drug testing (forensic testing). Even though the purpose of such testing is very different, the same methods are often used for both because the ability and ease of performance of immunoassays on automated instruments.

In the emergency department, physicians initially treat the signs and symptoms of the overdosed patient and rely on the laboratory drug testing results to confirm the diagnosis and to possibly monitor treatment. The National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry (NACB) practice guidelines for the use of laboratory tests to support poisoned patients recommends that the clinical laboratory provide two tiers of drug testing: a first tier of qualitative and quantitative tests available on a stat basis to support evaluation of acute toxicity for specific toxins for which an antidote or specific therapy is available, and a second tier (turnaround time of 24 hours or less) of more comprehensive testing of patients with continuing medical problems from exposure to other drugs and chemicals.

The 1888 Mandatory Guidelines for Federal Workplace drug Testing Programs and subsequent revisions mandate scientific and technical procedures for the drug testing process, including: collection, Transportation of specimens, testing procedures incorporating quality control, method evaluation, results reporting, and standards for laboratory accreditation by the National Laboratory Certification Program (NLVP). Although private-sector industries are not required to follow the guidelines develop for the federal program, many choose to do so.

Currently, urine is the specimen of choice for both clinical and workplace drug testing with certain exceptions (i.e., ethanol testing under DOT which breath, blood, or saliva matrices are acceptable). Urine offers the advantages of non-invasive collection and a relatively easy, cost-effective proven technology. Guidelines mandate a controlled collection and use of standardized Custody and Control Forms as the specimen requisition, chain of custody, and official report form.

A laboratory may only test for certain drugs (the “NIDA 5”) at specified cutoff levels for the federal workplace drug testing. Testing for other drugs (e.g., barbiturates, benzodiazepines, propoxyphene, methaqualone, etc.) and at other cutoff concentrations may occour fro non-regulated. State regulated, and clinical samples. Federal regulated tesging mandates initial screening by an immunoassay method and subsequednt conformation of all screening- positibve samples by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). Clinical and non-regulated testing may utilize any combination of methods available.

Test Interpetation

Testing for amphetamines in regulated samples includes testing for only amphetamine and methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is metabolized to amphetamine, and a positive methamphetamine specimen must contain amphetamine at a concentration greater than 200 ng/mL, in addition methamphetamine at a concentration of greater than 500 ng/mL cutoff. Several prescription medications (Adderal®, Dexdrine®, Didrex®, Eldepryl®, etc.) Contain either amphetamine or methamphetamine or compounds that are metabolized to theses substances. For clinical and non-regulated testing, the detection of other amphetamine family substances, such as MDMA (Ecstasy) may be requests. The ability of the ability of the laboratory to detect such compounds is dependent on the specificity of the antibody and the type of immunoassay used for screening.

Screening immunoassays for cannabinoids detect multiple metabolites for marijuana with a cutoff

Concentration of 50 ng/mL used for regulated drug testing. GCMS conformation identifies and quantities the major metabolite, 11-non-tetrahydrocannabinol-9carboxylic acid (delta-9 THca). Using a cutoff of 15 ng/mL. chronic marijuana users may produce positive results for longer periods of time than acute users (up to several weeks) because of accumulation of cannabinoid metabolites in fatty tissues followed by slow release. Studies have shown that it is highly unlikely that a nonsmoking individual could inhale sufficient smoke by passive inhalation to result in a positive result when using a screening cutoff of 50 ng/mL. Immunoassays with cutoffs of 20ng/mL and 100 ng/mL are available for non-regulated and clinical testing, although NACB guidelines recommended that there is no clinical reason for routine cannabinoids testing in the over closed patient.

Cocaine is rapidly metabolized, and the major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, is the primary compound measured by cocaine (metabolite) immunoassays. There are no cocaine-containing prescription medications, but cocaine solutions are sometimes used as a topical anesthetic for various ear, nose, throat, bronchoscopic, and ophthalmologic procedures.

American Toxicology is proud of what we have to offer our clients. Below is just a few of these things:

Locally owned and operated

Minority owned

25 years of service

In by ten out by four (At our Sunrise location)

Urine testing

Hair testing (we normally go back 90 days but can go back farther upon request)

24 hour turn-around time on negatives

48 hour turn-around time on positives

Job fairs at no extra charge

MRO Service at no extra charge

Expert witness service at no extra charge

Random drug testing program

Post accident/Probable cause testing

Complete confidentially

No hidden charges

Results faxed, called, mailed or delivered by courier

Licensed and certified by the State of Nevada

We are the only exclusive drug testing Laboratory in the State of Nevada. Our in office waiting time is very minimal

Reporting and Information Systems

American Toxicology utilizes a modern IT system for its reporting and information systems. A server is housed at the Lab, and all information germane to the testing process is entered at the Lab Technician’s work station. The IT system is secure, and only a small number of American Toxicology employees are authorized, and have access to the information contained there. Our effectiveness is demonstrated by the successful transmittal of necessary information to its clients as currently provided. Additionally we are proud to announce, on June 1st, 2007 we will be initiating a new website with online requisitions and online reporting available to our clients at their own option. There is no additional charge for this service.