Prescription Drug abuse – primarily opioid abuse – is increasing among patients undergoing pain management therapy. Unlike other toxicology laboratories, Calloway has customized our process to work with doctors’ offices with protocols specifically designed for the pain management field. Our Pain Care Protocol limits physician liability while improving patient care.
| "Calloway's Pain Care Protocol embraces the best practices and provides a com-prehensive and responsible approach for clinicians in their treatment of patients suffering from chronic pain." |
Limiting Physician Liability
In response to the growing abuse of prescription drugs, the medical profession is increasing its use of drug testing. It has become a fundamental part of any pain management regimen. Early identification of prescription misuse helps doctors recognize patients with possible issues. Government agencies, such as the DEA, are increasing their monitoring of physician compliance to address the growing problems of drug diversion and drug addiction.
Calloway’s Pain Care Protocol helps limit physician liability by demonstrating a doctor’s proactive efforts towards preventing diversion and misuse of controlled substances. It is not recommended that physicians rely solely on behavioral characteristics and self-reported usage. Both methods have been shown to be ineffective when not combined with routine urine screening.
Improving Patient Care.
Because self-reporting of drug use is unreliable, it is not always easy to identify a patient who may be at risk. Regular urine testing is recommended using Calloway’s protocol. By developing a more accurate patient profile, physicians can implement individual treatment regimens that address each patient’s risk factors.
Specimen Cup.
Calloway provides physicians with a unique split chamber cup for preliminary results in less than five minutes. This cup an excellent tool for early identification of possible problems with patients undergoing pain management treatment. Calloway’s Pain Care Protocol has instant results verified by a quantitative confirmatory test. This unique cup has a snap-top to secure the receptacle for safe transportation to our laboratory.
Immunoassay Screening.
Calloway’s Pain Care Protocol includes immunoassay urine testing to detect and quantify targeted drugs. Our technology identifies any of 17 controlled substances, making it one of the most comprehensive portfolios available. We customize this list for each practice depending on the requirements of the treatment regimen.
- Amphetamines
- Barbiturates
- Benzodiazepines
- Cocaine Metabolite
- Propoxyphene
- PCP
- THC
- Ethanol
- Opiates
- Methadone
- MDMA
- Oxycodone
- Buprenorphine
- Tramadol NEW!
- Fentanyl
- ETG
- Meperidine COMING SOON!
In-house Confirmation.
Our Pain Care Protocol includes an in-house Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) confirmation test for all positive immunoassay screens. Although many confirmation methods are used throughout the industry, GC/MS is considered the “Gold Standard” for quantification. For some drug confirmations, our in-house LC/MS-MS is used. Recently, Calloway launched it's use of lasers for quicker confirmatory results.
Medical Review.
Calloway offers a one-of-a-kind medical review process developed specifically for our Pain Care Protocol. Unlike commonly performed medical reviews, our MRO does not simply look for positive results, but also identifies inconsistencies between toxicology results and the drugs prescribed by the ordering physician. The MRO response has been fully integrated into our reporting so that physicians receive MRO comments with each test.
Web Portal.
All drug test results are available via Calloway's HIPAA-compliant web portal. In addition to Calloway's robust test reports, there are many helpful tools including a practice "report card", sample tracking, supplies ordering, and many other features.
Third-Party Billing.
Calloway handles all billing through third-party insurance carriers, eliminating the need for physicians to bill for laboratory testing. This means the benefits of Calloway’s Pain Care Protocol are available without administrative effort or financial obligation. |