Nursing gets the attention. But dental hygiene, radiologic technology, PTA and OTA, medical assisting, surgical technology, sonography, respiratory therapy, and EMS programs all place students in the same hospitals, clinics, and surgical suites — under the same clinical affiliation agreements, with the same screening and immunization requirements. What they usually don't have is a dedicated compliance coordinator. The requirement complexity is identical; the staffing is not.
What allied health programs are required to verify
- Drug screening before clinicals, often repeated per rotation or randomly — typically a 10-panel urine screen.
- Background checks, frequently including healthcare sanctions screening (FACIS) for programs placing students in hospitals billing federal programs. See what's actually searched.
- Immunizations and titers — MMR, hepatitis B, varicella, Tdap, annual influenza — plus TB screening on your sites' schedule.
- N95 fit testing, annually per OSHA's standard where respirators are used — especially relevant for respiratory therapy, surgical tech, and EMS. How our on-site events work.
- CPR certification, usually American Heart Association specifically, with expiration tracking that catches lapses mid-program.
The small-cohort economics problem — and the fix
Big compliance vendors are built for volume, and their published student bundles run $120–$153.98 at schools using them. That math is punishing when your cohort is twelve students and your director is also teaching two courses. Our approach is built the other way around:
The move most schools miss: combine programs into one campus visit. Radiography, dental hygiene, and PTA screened the same morning turns three logistical headaches into one, and more students on a single visit is better value for everybody. If several programs at your school each run their own vendor relationship, consolidating them is usually the fastest budget win available to a dean.
One portal, separate rules
Each program keeps its own requirement set — because radiography's rules aren't dental hygiene's, and neither matches nursing's — while the institution gets a single portal, a single invoice, and one support line. Trained staff review every document within 24 hours with specific fix-it notes, and portals go live 24–48 hours after we receive your requirements.
Get a quote or a 20-minute demo — from a human
Every inquiry goes straight to the owners. No ticket queue, no call center, no "your request has been received."
Prefer to talk? Call or text (901) 517-7450 · josh.smith@drugfreeschools.net
Frequently asked questions
Do allied health programs drug test like nursing programs?
Yes. Dental hygiene, radiologic technology, PTA/OTA, medical assisting, surgical technology, sonography, respiratory therapy, and EMS programs place students in the same clinical facilities as nursing students — and those facilities set the screening requirements.
Why do smaller programs struggle more with compliance?
Scale. A 12-student surgical tech cohort carries the same requirement complexity as a 120-student nursing cohort, but usually without a dedicated compliance coordinator — so it lands on a program director who is also teaching.
Can small cohorts still get on-site screening events?
Yes. For small groups we use in-house collection kits at $19.50 per student, and we regularly combine multiple programs into one campus visit so a 12-student cohort gets the same convenience as a large one.
Is portal pricing different for small programs?
No — $30 per student with unlimited free administrator and faculty accounts, whether you enroll 12 students or 1,200. There's no minimum and no long-term contract.
Can one portal cover several programs at the same school?
Yes, and that's usually the point. Each program keeps its own requirement set — radiography's rules differ from dental hygiene's — while the school gets one portal, one invoice, and one support line.
CastleBranch, DISA, DISA Healthcare, Complio, American DataBank, Bridges, Verified Credentials, Viewpoint Screening, Med+Proctor, Magnus Health, Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp, and Checkr are trademarks of their respective owners. Drug Free Schools is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by these companies. Third-party prices, policies, and events referenced on this page come from public announcements and published school and vendor materials as of July 2026 and may have changed; verify current terms with the vendor. Nothing on this page is legal or medical advice.