May 9th, 2024 | Sterling

Redefining Employment Drug Testing and Health Screening

In January 2024, Sterling announced the acquisition of Vault Workforce Screening, a market leader in drug testing and occupational health screening solutions for employers in healthcare, transportation, and other regulated industries. The acquisition brings together two tenured companies, each with over 30 years of experience in advancing drug and health screening solutions that effectively support ever-evolving business requirements.   

As our two companies work to define their joint delivery model, the exciting outcome of this pairing is the union of the best of Sterling’s and Vault’s drug and health offerings, and the creation of an enhanced solution anticipated to include seamless service, deep market expertise, and one of the most expansive screening portfolios in the industry.   

For Sterling prospects and clients, what changes should be expected with the Sterling and Vault employment drug testing and occupational health screening solution? 

Creating an Enhanced Drug Testing & Health Screening Solution 

One of the primary advantages of the enhanced Sterling drug and health solution is a new Sterling-managed clinic network of more than 17,000 clinics across the US. The network includes Labcorp, Quest Diagnostics, Concentra, and numerous regional urgent care providers. With clinics in over 4,500 cities nationwide¹, most candidates and employees can find a convenient clinic location nearby. 

However, clinics can be more than a nearby testing location. Working directly with a drug and health screening provider managing their own clinic network is like having a contractor to help you build your house. The knowledge and trust-based relationships the contractor brings to the construction site helps to create a faster, more seamless experience — with less stress on your part.  

Similarly, Sterling’s deep expertise, coupled with a direct managing relationship with the clinics, can help facilitate a more streamlined experience for you. Working directly with our clinics, we can help provide you with: 

• Faster, more efficient results with improved follow-up. 
• Expanded service flexibility. 
• Improved quality around the intricacies and demands of health screening. 
• Greater visibility for you into the progress of screening services.   

A More Robust Portfolio of Drug & Health Services 

A screening partner with a broad offering of background check and drug and health screening services can help you consolidate your screening to provide a streamlined candidate experience, reduce time-to-hire, and track your credentialing or compliance program progress easily against target goals.     

Over the years, Sterling has worked to build a broad range of background check and drug & health services to meet our clients’ needs. One of the greatest challenges has been developing physical exam and medical service protocols that provide flexibility to accommodate specific client requirements while also standardizing services with clinics to gain efficiencies and lower costs. This is an area where Vault excels. Working directly with their clinic partners, they deliver physical exams and medical services reflecting client needs.  

With our combined solution, we now have more than 1,300 drug testing and occupational health services¹ along with Sterling’s robust background check solutions, including:  

• Lab-based and instant drug testing, including urine, oral fluid, and hair sampling. 
• Physical exams, including specialty exams. 
• Medical services, including niche, industry specific services. 
• Department of Transportation (DOT) and non-regulated drug & alcohol services. 
• Random Program testing administration, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration  (FMCSA), Clearinghouse Violations management, and Commercial Driver Medical Examination (CDME) Review services.

A Modern and Seamless Candidate and Employee Experience  

According to Sterling’s Hiring Reimagined report, candidates look for a seamless, modern experience that makes the hiring process simple and efficient. Our Candidate Hub was created in response to this need for an intuitive, mobile-responsive experience.  

With both background checks and drug & health screening fully integrated into our Client and Candidate Hubs, this modern experience covers your entire screening program, from data input to clinic registration to result delivery. 

In-House Medical Review Officer Resources 

What does a Certified Medical Review Officer (MRO) do? The MRO is a licensed physician who safeguards your trustworthy and reliable drug testing process. They perform multiple tasks, including: 

• Reviewing drug testing results and completed paperwork. 
• Validating laboratory process integrity and quality.  
• Maintaining compliance with result reporting regulations.  
• Working directly with candidates and employees to verify medical information and resolve candidate disputes. 
• Serving as a resource for you and your employee or candidate drug testing inquiries.  

With the combined Sterling + Vault drug and health solution, we have added an in-house MRO team focused on serving Sterling’s clients. This dedicated resource will help improve client support, enhance quality control, and accelerate result turnaround times. Additionally, our MROs can help create a more seamless candidate or employee drug testing experience with: 

• Consistent coverage for all time zones and off-days. 
• Prompt coordination to support non-English speaking donors. 
• Expertise in addressing inquiries. 

Expertise Aligned with Your Goals and Objectives 

Your screening partner can assist in keeping you up to date with legal requirements and help you more easily comply with your credentialing or compliance goals. 

Our newly expanded support model incorporates expert resources to help you answer policy and best practice questions and simplify adherence to drug and health screening regulations. Some ways we can help you stay compliant include: 

• Webinars and blogs exploring current screening regulations and best practices. 
• Expert compliance feedback for policy and best practice (e.g. DOT and Healthcare). 
• Random Administrators to help manage your random program and reporting needs. 
• Concierge services to facilitate faster results for Healthcare and DOT-regulated clients. 
• Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) resource letter & follow-up testing support. 
• Audit support and enhanced reporting to simplify year-end requirements. 
   

When will the combined drug & health screening solution be available?

Look for our enhanced drug and health solution starting in Q4 2024. At that time, Sterling prospects and clients will be able to begin accessing our expanded drug and health services delivered via the Sterling Clinic Network. Fully integrated into our modern Client Hub, our enhanced capabilities will offer simplified, mobile-responsive experiences, and deliver drug and health results along with your background check results on a single, consolidated report.   

Interested in learning more? Explore our Drug & Health Screening solutions to learn how Sterling’s services are optimized to help your organization accelerate hiring and create a culture of trust and safety. Or Contact Us today.

¹ Sterling Corporate Stats, 2024

Sterling is not a law firm. This publication is for informational purposes only and nothing contained in it should be construed as legal advice. We expressly disclaim any warranty or responsibility for damages arising out this information. We encourage you to consult with legal counsel regarding your specific needs. We do not undertake any duty to update previously posted materials.