Lab Certification

Urinalysis testing of legal specimens requires compliance to well-defined and effectively functioning procedures for laboratories. Normal standards for collecting and testing specimens may not be adequate when test results are to be used as legal evidence in court proceedings and where individuals face punitive or disciplinary actions. Clinical laboratories performing urine drug testing for such usage must be able to meet forensic standards of specimen handling and testing. The TASC Laboratory is exclusively dedicated in accomplishing this goal.

TASC's laboratory is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) under the CAP Forensic Drug Testing Program (AU-ID: 1050328). TASC is also certifed through the federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) under CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Act) regulations (CLIA ID#: 3D0938729). These certificationsinvolve onsite inspections plus rigorous proficiency testing, staffing, education and training requirements.

The laboratory refers to many of the recommendations of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (formerly National Institute on Drug Abuse) for their testing procedures, while meeting and/or exceeding all CAP and CLIA certification requirements and guidelines. The American Probation and Parole Association's Drug Testing Guidelines are followed in areas where applicable for criminal justice contractual needs.

TASC's drug screening and confirmation proficiency testing programs are adjudicated by the College of American Pathology (CAP) as a guarantee to continued excellence in drug testing. Both enzyme immunoassay screening and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) confirmation testing are reviewed under this process. Quarterly blind urine samples spiked with quantities of unknown drugs are analyzed by the laboratory and are returned for grading purposes.