EDMONTON, ALBERTA – A newly certified testing facility in Edmonton could potentially improve DriverCheck’s turnaround times on negative lab-based test results for our clients in Alberta.

Gamma-Dynacare, DriverCheck’s designated drug testing laboratory, received certification this month from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide toxicology screening services at its laboratory in Edmonton, and the laboratory is now listed on the U.S. Federal Register as an HHS-Certified Instrumented Initial Testing Facility.

The certification means that specimen samples DriverCheck collects for clients in Alberta can be shipped to Edmonton (at our clients’ request) for initial laboratory screening analysis. Up to this point, all lab-based samples have been shipped to the HHS-Certified Gamma-Dynacare laboratory in Ontario for both initial screening and final confirmation testing.

Please note that the Edmonton laboratory is an initial screening test laboratory only, and is not certified to perform confirmation testing. Non-negative initial screening specimen samples will be sent to the Gamma-Dynacare laboratory in Ontario for confirmation testing. As well, the Edmonton laboratory will not be used for Point of Care Tests (POCTs are themselves initial screening tests conducted on site, combined with lab-based confirmation testing for non-negative specimens), unless your company’s alcohol and drug policy requires “express to lab” testing whereby all POCT specimens (including those testing negative) are sent to the laboratory for initial screening, and then confirmation testing if the lab-based initial screening test is non-negative.

Since the Edmonton lab can only perform initial screening tests, it cannot be used for U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) testing programs, which require that confirmation testing, where applicable, be performed at the same physical location that the initial screening is conducted.  However, for non-DOT regulated testing programs that do not have that restriction, this provides our clients with the option to use an HHS-certified laboratory to provide the highest quality testing, with the potential for faster turnaround time.

Please contact your DriverCheck sales consultant for more information and pricing.