Drug testing is considered the therapeutic tool to provide objective information about a patient’s recent substance use. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) recommends patient-specific drug testing based on the patient’s drug(s) of preference, prescribed medications, and drugs commonly used in the relevant geographic area and by the patient’s peer group for initial evaluation and ongoing monitoring throughout medication-assisted treatment (MAT).¹

Patients prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone for opioid use disorder may relapse by taking non-prescribed medications or illicit drugs. Awareness of the distribution of drug use in this patient population may aid clinicians in choosing which specific drugs to monitor.

Reference:

Hurford et al. Consensus Statement: Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine. American Society of Addiction Medicine. 2017. www.asam.org/resources/guidelines-and-consensus-documents/drug-testing. Accessed November 2018.