MRO (Medical Review Officer) |
A Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a licensed physician who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program. The MRO will evaluate drug test results and determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for laboratory confirmed positive, adulterated, substituted and invalid drug test results. The MRO will also ensure the timely flow of test results and other information to employers and protect the confidentiality of the drug testing information.
The Medical Review Officer that we use at DATCS is Benjamin Constante, MD from Momentum Urgent Care:
Dr. Constante is a native Texan. He attended Texas A & M University for undergraduate studies where he received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences. He then graduated from
Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in 1999 earning his Doctorate of Medicine. Dr. Constante
completed a residency in Family Practice at Akron City Hospital in Akron, OH in 2002. He is
board certified in Family Practice. He first started working in the urgent care field during his
residency and now has over 10 years experience in urgent care as well as emergency medicine.
He holds certifications in PALS, ACLS and is a Medical Review Officer (MRO). Since relocating to Tyler over 7 years ago, Dr. Constante has worked at the ETMC –Emergency
Care Center located on S. Broadway. His wife Jennifer is active in their church and was the
leader of their MOPS program. They have 3 children Dominic, Natalie and Kaitlyn.
MRO
Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a person who is a licensed physician and who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer's drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
The MRO is an independent and impartial "gatekeeper" and advocate for the accuracy and integrity of the drug testing process. They provide quality assurance review of the drug testing process for the specimens under review, determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for laboratory confirmed positive, adulterated, substituted and invalid drug test results, ensure the timely flow of test result and other information to employers and protect the confidentiality of the drug testing information.
You will be asked to fax proof of your prescription that should have the following four elements that generally serve as an indication that a legitimate doctor-patient relationship has been established:
-- A patient has a medical complaint;
-- A medical history has been taken;
-- A physical examination has been performed; and
-- Some logical connection exists between the complaint, the medical history, the physical examination, and the drug prescribed.
You may not take a prescription that is not in your name. If you cannot provide a valid prescription in your name, the test will be reported as a positive. The donor would then be required to see a Substance Abuse Professional, have a clean return to duty test, and as many follow up tests at designated by the SAP.
(a) As the MRO, when you have verified a drug test as positive for a drug or drug metabolite, or as a refusal to test because of adulteration or substitution, you must notify the employee of his or her right to have the split specimen tested. You must also notify the employee of the procedures for requesting a test of the split specimen.
(b) You must inform the employee that he or she has 72 hours from the time you provide this notification to him or her to request a test of the split specimen.
(c) You must tell the employee how to contact you to make this request. You must provide telephone numbers or other information that will allow the employee to make this request. As the MRO, you must have the ability to receive the employee's calls at all times during the 72 hour period (e.g., by use of an answering machine with a “time stamp” feature when there is no one in your office to answer the phone).
(d) You must tell the employee that if he or she makes this request within 72 hours, the employer must ensure that the test takes place, and that the employee is not required to pay for the test from his or her own funds before the test takes place. You must also tell the employee that the employer may seek reimbursement for the cost of the test. You must tell the employee that additional tests of the specimen e.g., DNA tests) are not authorized.
