Medical Review Officer (MRO) – A Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a person who is a licensed physician and who is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results. The MRO receives the laboratory drug test results from the lab and reports the results to the employer. Many TPA’s have in house MRO’s working for them. For Federal Programs, DOT programs and under many State laws and State law programs the MRO must be trained, qualified and certified by a nationally-recognized MRO certification board or subspecialty board for medical practitioners in the field of medical review of DOT-mandated drug tests.
The MRO is required for testing for Federal Agency employees, DOT testing programs and under many State laws and State law programs. It is a best practice to use an MRO for all workplace laboratory drug testing.