Psychemedics

Superior Detection of Drug Abuse

About Psychemedics Advantages & Benefits

Psychemedics was established in 1987 to provide testing for Full FDA Clearance: We are the only lab to have FDA clearances
drugs of abuse using hair analysis, and has been successfully for all five drug classes for both head and body hair.
operating for over 25 years. Thousands of corporations rely on
Psychemedics’ patented hair analysis technology for their pre- Accurate & Reliable Results: In side-by-side evaluations, 5-10
employment and employee drug screening. times as many drug users were accurately identified with the
Psychemedics hair test.
Patented Technology
Smallest Hair Sample Required: Psychemedics requires the
The technology was pioneered in 1977 after years of research smallest amount of hair in the industry; other labs require that
proved that drugs deposited in the hair can be measured. 2-3 times more hair be collected.
Psychemedics developed and patented a process that releases
virtually 100% of the drugs from the hair. This technology not Environmental Contamination: We have the most extensive/
only detects if drugs of abuse have been used, but can also show effective wash procedure to remove external contaminants
the quantity and historical pattern of individual drug use. from the hair.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Cheat Proof: Our test cannot be beat with common tactics that
can affect other tests.
→ Ingested drugs circulate in a
person’s bloodstream and nourish Legal Track Record: Psychemedics test results have been
the developing hair follicle. continuously upheld by state and federal courts.
→ Trace amounts become
trapped in the core of the hair Collection & Test
shaft in amounts roughly
proportional to those ingested.  The standard test uses a one and a half inch sample of
head hair, which provides an approximate 3 month history
Psychemedics offers testing for all of the most commonly of drug use.
abused drugs. We also test for the metabolites associated with
these drugs, where applicable.  A cosmetically undetectable lock of hair is easily collected
and snipped from the back of the head, without causing
State Of The Art Laboratory the embarrassment of providing a urine sample. Body hair
can also be analyzed if head hair is not available.
In addition to having FDA clearances for all of our screening
assays, our laboratory is certified/accredited by CLIA (Clinical  The hair sample is collected under chain-of-custody
Laboratory Improvement Amendments), CAP (College of procedure and sealed in tamper evident packaging. The
American Pathologists), and ISO/IEC 17025:2005, and also holds donor is present during the entire process and initials the
all required state licenses. final sealed envelope.

 The package is then sent to the laboratory for analysis. The
sample first undergoes a screen test. If it screens positive,
it goes through an extensive wash process to remove
external contaminants and the result is confirmed using
mass spectrometry (GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS).

 Our certifying scientists review the results, which we then
report back to the employer.

Hair Testing Pioneer & Leader

Psychemedics Corporation is the world's leading drug testing company using hair. Psychemedics' patented hair
analysis technology is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, police forces, courts, schools and parents all over the world.

www.psychemedics.com | 125 Nagog Park, Suite 200, Acton, MA 01720 | (877) 517-2033