Book Your Appointment
Corporate Wellbeing · For employers, HR and occupational health teams
Workplace Drug Testing & Positive Result Management
When an employee has a positive workplace drug testing result, Sanctuary Clinics helps your company respond with a clear, clinically led process: from reviewing the result and arranging a confidential assessment to coordinating treatment, rehabilitation and return-to-work support.
Every programme is built around your policies, your workforce and your budget. We give clinical recommendations; decisions about employment and fitness for duty stay with your company.
Licensed by the Ministry of Health Malaysia (KKM-231400-14152-11) · Consent-based, limited-scope reporting · Tailored proposals
Who our workplace drug testing support is for
A positive result puts HR in a difficult position: you need to protect safety and follow your policy, while treating the employee fairly. We give you a structured, defensible way to do both.
HR teams and managers
Clear next steps when an employee tests positive, with one point of contact for the whole case.
Occupational health providers
Refer employees for clinical assessment and treatment, while keeping fitness-for-duty decisions with your team.
Safety-sensitive industries
Oil and gas, manufacturing, logistics, construction and other sectors where compliance and operational continuity matter.
Companies building a policy
Organisations that test, or plan to, and want a written process for managing positive results.
Need the tests themselves? Our clinic also offers rapid drug testing in Kuala Lumpur for employers and individuals.
What our positive drug test management service covers
Sanctuary manages the clinical side of each case. Where another provider is involved, we coordinate with them so your HR team does not have to.
Delivered by Sanctuary Clinics
- A positive-result response protocol for your company, or alignment with the one you already have
- Guidance for your HR or occupational health team on next steps
- Intake and written consent from the employee
- A confidential clinical assessment using structured screening tools such as AUDIT and ASSIST, with a treatment recommendation report
- Outpatient counselling and our structured Recovery Care Program
- Psychiatric review where clinically indicated
- Rapid drug screening at our clinic (strip and panel cup tests) to monitor progress during and after treatment
- Limited-scope progress reports and a discharge summary
Coordinated with other providers
- Residential rehabilitation and detoxification. When an assessment recommends inpatient care, we coordinate admission to residential centres within our wider group, Solace Asia or Salus.
- Confirmatory laboratory testing. Arranged through your occupational health provider or an accredited laboratory.
- Fitness-for-duty and return-to-work clearance. These remain with your company and its occupational health provider.
- Emergency medical care. Provided by hospital emergency departments.
How positive drug test management works
The exact steps are agreed with your company in advance. A typical case runs like this.
1
Report the result
Your HR or occupational health team contacts us through the reporting channel agreed in your programme.
2
Review and consent
We review the result, how it was obtained and your policy. The employee gives written consent for assessment and for the reports you will receive.
3
Confirm and assess
Where the result is only a screen, we advise on confirmatory testing. A clinician then carries out a confidential assessment, usually online and typically within 48 hours of referral.
4
Agree a plan
We recommend a level of care matched to clinical need. The company and employee agree the funding arrangement.
5
Treat and monitor
Treatment begins, with drug screening during and after it. We report at the start, at the end and if a crisis arises.
6
Discharge and return
When treatment is complete and screens are clear, we issue a discharge summary within five business days. Your company decides on return to work.
When a different response is needed
If an employee appears intoxicated at work, is unwell or poses an immediate safety risk, follow your safety procedures first: remove them from duty, especially safety-sensitive work, and arrange safe transport home. In a medical emergency, call 999. We can advise once the situation is safe.
A clinical process, not a disciplinary one
Our role is to assess and recommend care. Whether a positive result leads to any workplace action is your company’s decision, made under your policy and employment law. Our reports state that they contain clinical recommendations only.
Employee rehabilitation support matched to clinical need
Treatment intensity is set by the assessment, not by a fixed package. The clinician decides the type and length of care, which keeps the response proportionate and easier to justify.
Lower severity
Brief outpatient support
A short course of outpatient sessions, with drug screening for an agreed period during and after treatment.
Moderate severity
Recovery Care Program
Our 4-week structured outpatient Recovery Care Program, combining individual and group sessions with regular drug screening, followed by a monitoring period.
Higher severity
Residential rehabilitation
Inpatient treatment, followed by our Recovery Care Program as outpatient aftercare, with ongoing monitoring.
If there is a further positive result
A positive screen during treatment or the agreed aftercare period usually leads us to recommend the next level of care. A lapse in the first month of treatment is treated as a serious clinical concern. A lapse six months or more after a programme ends is usually treated as a new episode, starting with a fresh assessment. Lapses at other times are reviewed case by case.
These are our usual clinical recommendations, not fixed rules. Escalation steps, monitoring periods and how strictly they apply can be tailored to your company’s policy and judgement.
Flexible funding for treatment and rehabilitation
Companies handle treatment costs in different ways. Choose the arrangement that fits your policy and budget, and we will agree it in writing before treatment starts.
Option A
Company-funded
Your company pays for the agreed assessment, treatment or rehabilitation.
Option B
Employee-funded
Your company engages us to manage the process, and the employee pays for the agreed treatment.
Option C
Shared cost
Company and employee split eligible costs, for example 50/50 or another agreed proportion.
Option D
Custom arrangement
A funding limit, approval process or benefit structure set by your company.
Assessment, outpatient treatment, drug screening, laboratory confirmation and residential rehabilitation are quoted separately. Residential fees depend on length of stay and room type. Not every arrangement suits every case, so we confirm what is workable when we prepare your proposal.
A workplace substance misuse programme built for your company
Malaysia’s Department of Occupational Safety and Health advises employers that test for drugs to have written procedures for testing and for managing employees who test positive. We help you put those procedures into practice.
We can write or review your positive-result protocol with you, and audit how it is working once it is in place.
What we build your programme around
- Your drug and alcohol policy and testing approach
- Who reports a result and who receives our reports
- Safety-sensitive roles and escalation contacts
- Where employees are based (assessments can usually be done online)
- Your funding model, limits and approval steps
- The report format your HR team needs
Confidentiality and what your company receives
Cases are handled as confidential health information, in line with Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act 2010 and our professional obligations. The employee gives written consent before assessment and before anything is shared with your company. Case notes are kept on a secure health information system.
Reports are deliberately limited to attendance, compliance and the treatment plan. They do not include what the employee discusses in sessions. We may need to share information beyond this where there is a serious risk to the employee or others, or where the law requires it.
Positive drug test management: common questions
What happens when an employee tests positive for drugs?
Your company first deals with any immediate safety concern under its policy, then contacts us. We review the result, obtain the employee’s consent, advise on confirmatory testing and arrange a confidential clinical assessment. The assessment leads to a treatment recommendation, and we coordinate care and reporting from there.
Does a positive drug screen mean the employee has an addiction?
No. A rapid screen is a preliminary result and can occasionally be affected by medicines. Even a confirmed result shows that a substance was present, not whether someone was impaired or has a substance use disorder. That is what the clinical assessment is for.
Can Sanctuary coordinate rehabilitation?
Yes. If the assessment recommends inpatient care, we coordinate admission to a residential centre within our wider group, such as Solace Asia or Salus, and plan outpatient aftercare and monitoring for when the employee returns.
Who pays for treatment or rehabilitation?
That depends on the arrangement your company chooses: company-funded, employee-funded, a shared cost or a custom arrangement. It is agreed in writing before treatment starts, and each part of the service is quoted separately.
Can the service follow our company’s HR policies?
Yes. We build the process around your existing drug and alcohol policy, reporting lines and escalation contacts. If you don’t have a written policy yet, we can help you develop the positive-result part of it.
Can we use Sanctuary without committing to a rehabilitation programme?
Yes. Many companies start with assessment only. Residential rehabilitation is recommended only when the assessment shows it is needed, and it goes ahead only when the company and employee agree.
Discuss Your Company’s Requirements
Tell us about your workforce, your current policy and how you would like to handle costs. We will send a proposal tailored to your company.
Email our team
Useful if you want to share a policy or tender document.
Looking for broader support for your people? See our Corporate Wellbeing and Employee Assistance Programme or contact us. Sanctuary Clinics, P-5-1, Ground Floor, Pusat Perdagangan, Jalan Bukit Jalil, Jalil 3, 57000 Kuala Lumpur.