Can I get a prescription from my doctor for a urine drug test?

May 20, 2013 12:29 PM

Can I get a prescription from my doctor for a urine drug test? I quit smoking marijuana ~25 days ago. Before quitting I smoked once or twice everyday. I ordered some dipstick drug test off the internet and started testing my urine after 5 days of not smoking. About 7 days ago the tests started coming up negative. I'd like to get this confirmed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Can I ask my primary care physician for a prescription for one? If I do, will he get the results and report them to my insurance company?

I quit because I was begining an employment search and was concerned I would be asked to do a pre-employment drug screening, which it turned I was not. I read a lot of conflicting things on the internet about how long it takes THC metabolites to leave your body. Now I'm just really interested in finding out how long it took those metabolites to leave my body, down to how man ng/L I'm at.

posted by anonymous to Grab Bag (7 answers total)

First off congrats on the 25-ish days.

Yes, your doctor can order any number of labs to test for any number of known entities in your system.

Except please be aware that this might not be something you would want on your "permanent record". If the test is negative then no biggie... if it's not then it's a matter of record that will follow you as long as you use that doctor (and now that we have EHR systems that are talking to each other, longer).

I'd suggest either hitting up a free clinic if your area has one of those, or discussing with your doc the specific scenario. Depending on the doc and the lab it is possible to run these tests somewhat anonymously (although that's getting more and more difficult these days).

This sort of thing happens more than you'd think. So don't be afraid to bring it up.
posted by Blue_Villain at 12:46 PM on May 20, 2013

There are now walk-in independent lab test sites now. Walk-in, tell them what you want, and they'll do it all on site. Just pay money.

It's reasonable and they do drug testing.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:15 PM on May 20, 2013

[This is a followup from the asker.]

Ruthless Bunny, I live in a state the prohibits direct access laboratory testing.

posted by cortex at 1:29 PM on May 20, 2013

Well, it would be more expensive, but you could drive to a state that doesn't and then do the independent lab thing there.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:56 PM on May 20, 2013

The only thing that a test would show you was how long it took for the THC to leave your body right now. There are a whole host of variables that play in to that: metabolism, exercise, fat ratio, diet, fluid intake...

This is not worth your time or money.
posted by kamikazegopher at 5:00 PM on May 20, 2013

The doctor probably wouldn't report the results, unless there was some kind of legal inquiry tat demanded it. But he (or the lab) would have to submit a bill to the insurance that looks something like "0021344-test,lab,THC-level-blood". So the insurance company would definitely know you'd been tested, and the results would be in your medical records.

If'n it was me and I needed to be completely sure, I'd either find a doctor and pay cash for the test, or I'd figure out what tests the screening agencies use and make sure you can pass that. If they just use the urine swabs, you are probably good to go.
posted by gjc at 7:31 PM on May 20, 2013

It depends on your doctor, but you might also just ask them outright how you can get such a test done without it getting into your records. In my (not extensive) experience, doctors are usually pretty sympathetic to privacy concerns; if that kind of fear is getting in the way of medical care, they will often help you find a way around it. (On the other hand, a doctor may see this as just random curiosity on your part and not a medical issue, and not be inclined to help; I dunno.)
posted by hattifattener at 9:27 PM on May 20, 2013