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"Drug tests are among the most overused, misused, and misinterpreted tests in the medical lexicon, especially during the birthing hospitalization. Given the consequence of a positive drug test result—a reflex report to child welfare—the question must be asked: Is drug testing a policing practice masquerading as clinical care?
This month’s issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology includes two articles that illuminate purported strengths and limitations of drug testing. In the first, Smid et al present public health surveillance data from statewide deidentified cord blood, which indicate that roughly 10% of newborns have prenatal substance exposure. The authors are unable to differentiate iatrogenic exposure, from prescribed medication, from treated addiction, from untreated addiction, yet they extrapolate the total number of substance-exposed neonates in the state.
...in the second article, by Kurtz et al. describe the common clinical practice of unconsented drug testing—a practice that violates autonomy and human rights and is in clear conflict with professional society recommendations — and suggest that drug testing is rarely clinically indicated and urge reevaluation
of routine testing."
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