Healthscope Commercial Pathology

Healthscope Commercial Pathology is one of Australia’s largest and longest-established pathology service providers. It is committed to providing our corporate clients with the best diagnostic pathology services available. Healthscope Commercial Pathology is part of Healthscope Ltd, one of Australia’s largest healthcare companies, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

 

It now comprises 63 laboratories across all states of Australia and more than 330 patient centres, processing more than three million patient tests every year. Healthscope Commercial Pathology now also operates internationally, with laboratories in New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia.

 

Our laboratories cover all disciplines of laboratory medicine and are accredited to the highest international standards by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA). Coupled with this, the expertise of our pathologists and dedicated laboratory scientific team ideally places our team to provide the highest standard of pathology services available.

 

The commercial business arm of Healthscope Ltd encompasses all non-Medicare pathology and provides services to companies, occupational health and safety providers and consultants, government bodies, medical clinics and a wide range of other organisations and industries.

 

We value our long-term relationships and aim to provide you with unequalled service every time.

• Pre-employment Screening

• Employee Health Screens

• Drug and Alcohol Testing

• Biological Monitoring

• Environmental Water Testing

• Insurance / Superannuation-related Testing

• Onsite workplace collections

• Pre-printed customised request forms

• Specialist medical advice

• Formulating your company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy

Sample collections can be done at your place of work or at any of our 200+ collection centres Australia-wide. Opening hours of collection centres can vary but are generally open from 7:00am to around 4:00pm Monday to Friday and some are open Saturdays.

 

Special arrangements can also be made for collections outside hours or weekends. Please refer to individual centre locations for opening and closing times.

 

Many companies require prospective employees to have screening tests done prior to commencing work. Screening tests can be for a range of conditions and may include any of the following:

• Screening for drugs of abuse

• Screening for heavy metals including lead, cadmium, plus many more

• Screening for general markers to indicate good health, such as cholesterol and glucose

• Screening to determine active immunity to infectious diseases, e.g. Hepatitis A or B, and Q-Fever

Employees may present at any of our collection centres across Australia to have their specimens collected. All they need to take with them is a Healthscope Commercial Pathology request form.

 

 

Employee drug testing is increasingly being carried out by organisations due to the general recognition that the use of alcohol and other recreational drugs can present a hazard in the workplace. Drug testing may also be useful in pre-employment assessment. The main goals of urine testing include:

• To improve workplace safety

• To improve productivity

• To reduce product/service defects

• To help employees overcome or modify their patterns of use of such substances

Drugs are well concentrated and excreted in urine, and testing involves techniques for detecting the various substances in a sample of urine. The collection of the sample and the subsequent laboratory testing is carried out in accordance with strict

standards.

The following drugs may be tested for:

• Cannabinoids (i.e. marijuana)

• Amphetamine Substances (e.g. speed, ecstasy etc.)

• Benzodiazepines (valium etc.)

• Cocaine

• Opiates (e.g. heroin, morphine)

• Barbiturates

• Alcohol (ethanol)

• Methadone Metabolite

 

Urine for testing may be collected either supervised or witnessed according to the company’s OH&S protocol. Supervised collections are standard Healthscope Commercial Pathology policy and are carried out by trained collection staff, in accordance with the Australian Standard. Collection, labeling and transport of the sample are carried out according to strict ‘Chain of Custody’ protocols as described in National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) guidelines. Chain of Custody documentation and procedures are designed to protect sample integrity and avoid sample tampering and claims of misidentification.

In accordance with the Australian Standard, the initial laboratory testing is a ‘screening test’. Healthscope Commercial Pathology uses the CEDIA technique. The CEDIA immunoassay procedure covers the six main drug classes. The above process has been found to give an accuracy of 97-99%. However, any screening test can give a false positive result on occasion and it is strongly recommended that all positive results be confirmed using a confirmatory Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) test. Screening rechecks can be requested by the referrer, without charge, on the original sample.

In addition to supplying staff for on site sample collection, Healthscope Commercial Pathology can supply Point of Care (POC) devices for on-the-spot drug and alcohol testing. These kits can test for a wide range of drugs of abuse and are designed for urine based drug testing.

 

The kits are based on the principle of an immunochemical reaction between a chemical and the drug or drug metabolites that may be present in the urine. During the test the urine sample migrates up the membrane and combines with the colloidal gold conjugate. When the drug is absent in the sample the coloured antibody binds with an immobilised drug protein to form a visible line in the test region. When the drug is present in sufficient concentration this line becomes invisible as the drug binds with the drug protein. Therefore the presence of a line on the test region indicates a negative result for the drug and the absence of a test line indicates a positive result for the drug.

 

A visible line generated at the control region of the test strip demonstrates that the test has been performed properly.

 

• Cannabis

• Amphetamines

• Methamphetamines

• Opiates

• Benzodiazepines

• Cocaine

It is possible that some medications may lead to false positive results in the initial screening test. Staff for whom urine drug testing is requested should be asked to list all prescription and non-prescription medicines and supplements that they may be

taking.

 

Healthscope Commercial Pathology provides a convenient kit to facilitate urine specimen collection and labeling. The kit consists of a strong plastic transport tube with screw-on lid, two specimen bottles and caps, specimen ID labels, Chain of Custody request form, tamper-proof seals, temperature strip, specimen plastic bag. The kits are suitable for mailing or transport to Healthscope Commercial Pathology laboratories.

 

Drug Classes include:

• Cannabinoids

• Alcohol (ethanol)

• Amphetamine Type Substances

• Methadone Metabolite

• Opiates

• Cocaine/Metabolites

• Benzodiazepines

• Barbiturates

 

Confirmation: Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

Note: This is a guide only, as duration of detectability is highly variable

 

Employee health screening can be done to proactively protect an employee’s health or in compliance with a legal requirement (see Biological Monitoring). Either way, it is a good way of ensuring long-term productivity of your most valuable asset. 

 

Internationally, the philosophy and methods of worksite health promotion (WHP) are gradually being adopted by companies across a wide range of industries. WHP is a combination of personnel development, health promotion, disease prevention, and improving work organisation and environment.

Pathology testing incorporated into an organisation’s staff welfare and health maintenance policies can be a valuable and cost-effective adjunct.

Employee health screening can be simple, involving one or two tests, or more complex involving a range of tests and a physical examination. The level of complexity will be determined by the company and the needs of the employees.

 

 

Some of the medical problems and/or risk factors that may be detected by pathology testing are:

 

                                                                                   

 

Healthscope Commercial Pathology offers different types of Employee Pathology Health Screening programs.

The core tests selected in level 1 Pathology Health Checks may be used to determine employee’s general well-being:

• Lipid Studies – Cholesterol, Triglycerides and HDL/LDL Ratio

• Fasting Glucose Test

• Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) – For Male Employees

This level of employee check-ups includes core level one pathology tests with addition of haematology and biochemical testing:

• Lipid Studies – Cholesterol, Triglycerides and HDL/LDL Ratio

• Fasting Glucose Test

• Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) – For Male Employees

• Full Blood Examination

• Renal (Kidney) Function Tests

• Liver Function Tests

The full pathology health screen check incorporates multiple investigations. In addition to the other 2 Health Screens, other tests may be added in determining and monitoring risks associated with workplace:

• Lipid Studies – Cholesterol, Triglycerides and HDL/LDL Ratio

• Fasting Glucose Test

• Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) – For Male Employees

• Full Blood Examination

• Renal (Kidney) Function Tests

• Liver Function Test

• Electro Cardio Gram (ECG) - Trace and Report

• Body Mass Index

• Hepatitis B Immunity plus selected Occupational Medical tests

• Lead Level Testing

• Q-Fever

Many workplaces can expose employees to potentially dangerous biological agents. It is important to regularly check the levels of these compounds to ensure that employees do not experience levels that may compromise their health. Healthscope Commercial Pathology can collect and analyse blood samples for the following compounds:

• Lead

• Cadmium

• Copper and Zinc

• Fluoride

• Other compounds are available on request

Healthscope Commercial Pathology can provide the following services:

• Legionella AS/NZ 3896.2008

• Ecoli/Coliforms AS 4276.5.2007 and AS 4276.7.2007

• Pseudomonads AS 4276.11.1995

• Total Plate Count AS 4276.3.1.2007 and AS 4276.3.2.2003

 

• Legionella - Industrial waters (cooling towers, evaporative coolers, ice)

• Ecoli/Coliforms - Potable waters (spring, rain, bore, dam, drinking waters)

- Effluents

• Pseudomonas - Recreational waters (spa, pools, baths)

• Total Plate Count - All of the above

 

• Legionella - Up to 7 days from testing

• Total Plate Count - Up to 2 days from testing

• Ecoli/Coliforms - Up to 3 days from testing

• Pseudomonas - From 4-10 days from testing

• Sample must be suitably labelled

• Sample must be in a sterilised leak-proof container

• Sample must be tested within 24 hours of collection

• 100ml minimum sample

• Sample must be put on ice or chilled at 4 degrees (must not be frozen)

Healthscope Commercial Pathology offers a range of pathology tests to assist insurance companies in assessing the health of prospective applicants. Healthscope Commercial Pathology routinely collects and tests for the following assays:

• Hepatitis A, B, and C

• HIV

• Liver, Renal Function, and Glucose

• Cholesterol, Triglycerides, HDL, LDL

• Urine Microscopy, Culture, and Sensitivity

• Plasma Cotinine (tobacco dependents)

• Other tests are available on requests and all are treated in the strictest confidence

 

The issue of testing for the misuse of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace can be an intimidating and sensitive issue and requires an understanding approach between the employer and employee including education, training and confidentiality. To be implemented successfully the program must be comprehensive and flexible and developed with input from all key stakeholders.

The range of services we offer our clients are:

• Alcohol and drug awareness sessions

• Pre-employment drug screening and medicals

• Random, for-cause and post incident testing

• Sample collection and laboratory analysis

• Training and presentation material

• Supervisor training in the assessment and management of workplace alcohol and drug related incidents and issues

• Administration of employee lists and selection process