Medical Review Officer Assistant Training Course

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**Please note this course is $379 for DATIA Members and $479 for non-members. Click here to find out how you can join today!

Upcoming Dates and Locations (Please note this is a FULL-DAY course)

Course Overview

DATIA's Medical Review Officer (MRO) Assistants course delivers comprehensive training on industry best practices, provides helpful hints for successful implementation, and helps MRO Assistants to achieve success. The course is designed for those who actively assist MROs and those who have regular contact with donors, employers, and program administrators. This program will help to ensure that MRO Assistant duties are performed in a professional and consistent manner, maintaining confidentiality for the donor, and ensuring security and integrity in the process. DATIA’s new training course is the only national training program for MRO Assistants, and is now the prerequisite for Medical Review Officer Certification Council (MROCC) MRO Assistant certification and exam.

After successful completion of DATIA’s MRO Assistant Training Course, attendees are eligible to apply for MRO Assistant Certification through the Medical Review Officer Certification Commission (MROCC). This three-year certification – awarded upon successful completion and passing of the MROCC MRO-A online examination -- acknowledges competency in those practical skills the MRO Assistant applies in fulfilling his or her professional responsibilities within the workplace drug testing arena. Please note, this certification is an additional cost. Information can be found at https://www.mrocc.org/get_certified.cfm.

* For those new to drug and alcohol testing or looking for a primer, DATIA recommends taking the Ins & Outs of Drug & Alcohol Testing online course prior to taking this course. Doing so will provide a primer allowing you to enhance your educational experience during this course.

Course Objective

DATIA’s course is designed for those who actively assist MROs in the review and reporting of drug test results, and those who have regular contact with donors, employers, and program administrators. This is a course that teaches practical methodology for meeting industry standards, and provides helpful hints and standards for situations regularly faced by MRO assistants. Attendees need not have previous knowledge of the collection and drug testing processes before enrolling in the course.

The objective of Excelling as an MRO Assistant is to provide instruction and resource material that enables the MRO assistant to: fully understand the role of the MRO and the MRO assistant in the drug testing process; define issues that arise during the medical review process and the best courses of action to tackle these issues; provide services meeting standards of professionalism, accountability, and ethical behavior; and implement practical application of industry standards and procedures.

Course Outline

The historical and current role of the MRO
The value and importance of the MRO assistant
About drug testing labs and their role
Regulatory requirements of the MRO
The importance of individual company policies, state laws, modal requirements, and HIPAA regulations
Standards of professionalism, accuracy, consistency, confidentiality, accountability, and ethical behavior
Demands on the MRO assistant for integrity, customer service, professional demeanor, communication and technology skills, detail orientation, and independent work
Methodology throughout the entire review process, including contact with labs and collection sites, matching chains, and MRO-donor interviews
About contact with the donor, the donor’s family and workplace, designated employer representatives (DER), and consortia/third party administrator (C/TPA) personnel
The importance of accuracy in reporting results, recordkeeping, and documentation
Issues surrounding split specimen testing, including payment, donor and employer communications, reporting, and documentation
What an assistant CAN and CANNOT do
Best ways to communicate with a donor including angry, non-English speaking, and rude or harassing donors
How to deal with someone who wants you to “bend the rules”
How to deal with uncooperative collection sites
Tips for dealing with attorneys, workers compensation companies, and subpoenas for records

About Your Instructor

Sandra Vanderploeg is the Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President for WorkforceQA. She was previously the owner and President of Interactive Medical Connections which was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1995. She merged this company with WorkforceQA in January of 2015.

As Chief Compliance Officer, Sandra works directly with senior management and the operations team regarding procedures and protocols for medical review of results, regulatory compliance, and customer training. She works closely with the WFQA Medical Review Officers (MROs) as well as the MRO assistants who provide an essential element of the drug testing process.

Sandra has been active in many professional organizations including the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association (DATIA) where she is an instructor and a frequent presenter. She has been the national instructor for DATIA’s “Excelling as a Medical Review Officer Assistant” course for the last ten years.

Helping to continually improve the drug and alcohol testing industry with the development of industry standards is one of her passions. Sandra enjoys the fact that DATIA fosters collaboration among industry partners with the goal of continuous learning for all members.

Continuing Education Units

Upon successful completion of the course, attendees receive .75 CEUs (7.5 contact hours) of continuing education credit. Attendees will be provided with a CEU certificate stating the course name, date, sponsoring organization (DATIA) and number of CEUS awarded. These CEUs can be used by attendees for fulfilling continuing education requirements.

Cancellation Policy

Cancellations made at least 30 days before the program will receive a full refund; cancellations made at least 14 days before the program will receive a full refund less a $50 administrative fee; and cancellations made less than 14 days before the program are nonrefundable. All refund requests must be submitted in writing.

DATIA reserves the right to cancel any and all courses 30 days prior to the date of the course(s) if five or less people are registered for any DATIA Seminar. DATIA will refund the course fee or offer a credit to attend the course at any date or location offered by DATIA within a year from the cancelled course date. DATIA will not incur any hotel or travel costs of attendees from a cancelled course. For any further questions regarding this policy please contact DATIA at 800-355-1257.

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