Survey: physicians ill-prepared for drug testing of youths.

At a time when federal officials are urging widespread drug testing of students to identify problem users and deter others from using, a recent survey indicates that primary care physicians are presently not qualified to conduct such testing accurately and effectively.

Based on physicians' overall lack of knowledge on proper testing procedures and the scope of testing, a widespread threat of false positives and false negatives derived in the doctor's office should have professional societies establishing training materials to assist their members, say researchers.

The 2004 physician survey, results of which were published in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, involved responses from 359 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the …