The Drug & Alcohol Testing Industry Association has a new online training initiative focused on drug testing specimen collection procedures. This online program will benefit all drug and alcohol testing providers as well as end-users of drug and alcohol testing services.


Specimen collection is the first step in the drug testing process and is often the only part of the process that the specimen donor and/or employee actually experiences. Because the collection of the specimen is the first step in the drug testing process and consequently initiates the chain of custody for testing the specimen, it is the most challenged part of the drug testing process. As such, specimen collections must be performed to the strictest of standards to maintain both the confidentiality of the donor and the security of the specimen.

While DATIA has been conducting specimen collection training and certification for over a decade, this is the first time that it has offered online training culminating in the opportunity to obtain DATIA's Certified Professional Collector certification. Previously, training was only offered in-person. However, given the advancement of online training programs and their ability to effectively relay information to participants, DATIA decided it was time to debut its Certified Professional Collector course as the first of many online training courses.

"The ability for specimen collectors to receive quality training at an affordable cost has far-reaching implications for the industry," says Laura Shelton, DATIA Executive Director. "Not only will the professionalism and accuracy of the process be improved by reaching a larger, often neglected audience, but companies with drug testing programs in place will also benefit from more positive employee and/or donor experiences. Moreover, fewer errors in the collection process means that fewer test results will be called into question, saving companies both time and money."