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Today’s podcast will share results of a recent Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™ publication, The Opioid Epidemic Within the COVID-19 Pandemic: Drug Monitoring in 2020, which was published in the October 2020 edition of Population Health Management. The study objective was to better understand the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and the drug epidemic in the US. To achieve this objective, investigators analyzed urine specimen results from an analytic cohort of 872,762 specimens from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings demonstrated significant changes in prescription drug monitoring and positivity rates for many drugs of concern. Important study results and conclusions discussed will include: Clinical drug testing decreased significantly during the pandemic period Nonprescribed positivity for fentanyl, heroin, and other drugs of concern increased significantly Many dangerous drug combinations, including combinations with fentanyl,  increased significantly The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the treatment of patients at risk for substance use disorder The role of clinical drug monitoring This episode features Dr Jeff Gudin, senior medical advisor, Quest Diagnostics Drug Monitoring and Toxicology, and Justin Niles, lead medical informatics analyst for Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™. You may download a PDF version of this presentation here >>   USmpBCvaHMuAYqilOKsr WLfNVWbRhVQGbIYBnOir

Today’s podcast will cover drug testing for stimulants and will highlight some of the challenges in results interpretation for this class of drugs. Important information shared during the discussion will include: What is classified as a stimulant Analysis of Amphetamine, Methamphetamine, and MDMA Interpretation challenges Synthetic stimulants The role of clinical drug monitoring Quest Diagnostics amphetamine drug testing offering   The episode features Dr Les Edinboro, PhD, executive science director, and Dr Jeff Gudin, senior medical advisor, Quest Diagnostics Drug Monitoring and Toxicology.   You may download a PDF version of this presentation here >>   To listen to other podcasts in our “Topics in Drug Testing” series, or learn more about Quest Diagnostics comprehensive drug testing offering, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com. There you will find our Drug Monitoring Test Directory, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to providing you results and insight to support your clinical decisions.

Today’s podcast will cover the role of clinical drug monitoring in Behavioral Health and during times of crisis. Important information shared will include: Mental Health disorders, diagnosis and prevalence The challenge of medication adherence in mental health treatment The impact of crises on the treatment of patients with mental health conditions The role of clinical drug monitoring   The episode features Dr Jeff Gudin, senior medical advisor and Dr Jack Kain, medical science liaison for the Quest Diagnostics Drug Monitoring and Toxicology division.   You may download a PDF version of this presentation here >>   To listen to other podcasts in our Topics in Drug Testing series or learn more about Quest Diagnostics comprehensive drug testing offering, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com. There you will find our Drug Monitoring Test Directory, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics we are committed to providing you results and insight to support your clinical decisions.

Today’s podcast will cover key findings from the annual Quest Diagnostics Health Trends report, Drug Misuse in America. Some of the key topics shared will include: Summary of analysis of more than 4.4 million de-identified drug monitoring tests performed by Quest Diagnostics from 2011 through 2018 Findings of a Harris Poll survey of 500 primary care physicians, as part of Health Trends report analysis Highlights of the evolving drug misuse crisis in America, including Drug mixing and the overdose death connection Key challenges facing physicians today, with regards to identifying drug misuse, and treating patients with chronic pain The role and importance of drug monitoring and incorporating it into medical practice This episode features Dr Jeff Gudin, senior medical advisor, Quest Diagnostics Drug Monitoring and Toxicology, and Justin Niles, lead medical informatics analyst for Quest Diagnostics Health Trends™.  You may download a PDF version of this presentation here>> To listen to other podcasts in our series or learn more about Quest Diagnostics' comprehensive drug testing offering, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com. There you will find our Drug Monitoring Test Directory, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics we are committed to providing you results and insight to support your clinical decisions.

Today’s podcast will cover testing for kratom, a drug of concern. Some of the key information shared will include: What is kratom?What is the chemical make-up? Kratom toxicity and side effects Testing for kratomWhy testing is important? How to test for kratom What testing will tell you This episode features Jack Kain, PharmD, Quest Diagnostics medical science liaison, and Jeff Gudin, MD, senior medical advisor, Quest Diagnostics drug monitoring.  You may download a PDF version of this presentation here>> To listen to other podcasts in our series or learn more about Quest Diagnostics' comprehensive drug testing offering, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com. There you will find our Drug Monitoring Test Directory, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics we are committed to providing you results and insight to support your clinical decisions.

Today's podcast will cover why and when to use oral fluid testing. Some key topics shared will include:   What is oral fluid testing? Comparison of oral fluid testing to other methods of testing The benefits of oral fluid testing? Some of the drugs oral fluid testing can identify?How are the drugs identified? How is the sample collected? Discussion on some of the key collection issues The episode features Les Edinboro, PhD, Quest Diagnostics executive science director, toxicology and drug monitoring, and Jeff Gudin, MD, senior medical advisor, Quest Diagnostics drug monitoring.  You may download a PDF version of this presentation here >> Download the oral fluid specimen collection instructions PDF here >> Download the oral fluid testing brochure PDF here >> To listen to other podcasts in our series or learn more about Quest Diagnostics comprehensive drug testing offering, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com. There you will find our Drug Monitoring Test Directory, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics we are committed to providing you results and insight to support your clinical decisions.

  Today’s podcast will cover dangerous drug combinations and the role of clinical drug monitoring. Some of the key information that will be shared includes: What are dangerous drug combinations What practitioners and the public need to know about them How dangerous drug combinations can work together to lead to side effectsCertain combinations predispose people to a greater risk of overdose and death Combinations that can affect drug levels, creating a pharmacokinetic drug–drug interaction Certain combinations that may result in excessive sedation How drug testing can helpA tool to identify dangerous drug combinations How drug testing identifies metabolites unique to a substance This episode features Quest Diagnostics Senior Medical Advisor Dr Jeff Gudin and Medical Science Liaison Dr Jack Kain.  You may download the PDF version of this presentation here>> To learn more, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com for information on our Drug Monitoring Test Directory and offerings, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to providing you results and insights to support your clinical decisions.

The podcast will cover screening (drug testing) for alcohol use in pain management and primary care. Topics covered will include: Understand drug and alcohol misuse and abusePrevalence rates of alcohol use and misuse, and alcohol use disorders Information on alcohol use, and concomitant use with opioids and benzodiazepines Screening guidelinesTools and types of tests Testing for alcoholBreathalyzer Advances in testing Biomarkers Other considerations Quest Diagnostics approach This episode features Quest Diagnostics Senior Medical Advisor Dr Jeff Gudin and Medical Science Liaison Dr Jack Kain.  You may download the PDF version of this presentation here>> To learn more, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com for information on our Drug Monitoring Test Directory and offerings, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to providing you results and insights to support your clinical decisions.

Today’s episode is on patients with substance use disorders in medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Some of the key points that will be covered include: What is medication-assisted treatment What are the goals of an MAT treatment program Medications used in MAT treatment  Drug testing during MATPurpose of drug testing Types of drug testingSpecimen collection Specimen validity Test confirmation This episode features Quest Diagnostics Senior Medical Advisor, Dr Jeff Gudin, and Medical Science Liaison, Dr Jack Kain.  You may download the PDF version of this presentation here > To learn more, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com for information on our Drug Monitoring Test Directory and offerings, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to providing you results and insights to support your clinical decisions.

Today, we will be talking about marijuana and marijuana-based products in order to:  Understand drug testing for marijuana, and why it’s important Examine marijuana used in concert with controlled medications for pain or ADHD Give some general recommendations for therapeutic drug monitoring for marijuana in patients with chronic pain using controlled substancesFor example, at a minimum such patients should be tested before opioid therapy begins, again within 1 to 3 months, and randomly over the next 12 months, and more frequently if there are unexpected results, or there are complaints or behavior changes in the patient  The episode features Quest Diagnostics Senior Medical Advisor, Dr Jeff Gudin, and Medical Science Liaison, Dr Jack Kain. They will be discussing drug testing your patients for marijuana. You may download the PDF version of this presentation here > To learn more, please visit QuestDrugMonitoring.com for information on our Drug Monitoring Test Directory and offerings, as well as educational resources and insights from our team of toxicology experts. At Quest Diagnostics, we are committed to providing you results and insights to support your clinical decisions.