A new integrated solution for drug and alcohol abstinence monitoring has launched in the UK, pairing DrugPatch’s wearable drug testing patch with SCRAM Remote Breath’s portable alcohol monitoring.

Why Snapshot Testing Falls Short

Urine screens, oral fluid tests and occasional breathalysers all share the same weakness: they only capture a moment in time. A missed appointment or a gap between tests can hide a relapse entirely, and sample substitution remains a persistent risk with spot checks. Since drug and alcohol dependency frequently occur together, services relying on separate, periodic tests for each substance are working with an incomplete picture.

How DrugPatch Covers the Gap

DrugPatch is a tamper-evident, wearable patch that collects sweat continuously for up to 10 days, so it captures drug use or abstinence across the full wear period rather than a single test result. Results are lab-confirmed via LC-MS/MS with a documented chain of custody, and the patch detects a broad range of substances across cocaine, amphetamine, benzodiazepine, opiate, opioid and cannabis groups, with pregabalin, gabapentin and fentanyl detection in development. The patch is designed to stay discreet enough for daily life to continue as normal.

Where SCRAM Remote Breath Fits In

SCRAM Remote Breath handles the alcohol side of drug and alcohol abstinence monitoring. It’s a portable cellular breathalyser that supports scheduled, random and on-demand testing wherever the client happens to be. Facial recognition and GPS confirm the right person tested in the right place, and results generate real-time alerts. If a connection drops, the device stores between 40,000 and 48,000 results and transmits them automatically once service resumes, so nothing gets lost in transit.

What This Changes Across the Care Pathway

Used together or separately, the two systems are designed to support earlier relapse detection, stronger safeguarding assessments and more informed prescribing decisions, while cutting down on urine collections and repeated clinic visits. Applications span community drug and alcohol teams, residential rehabilitation, detox units, criminal justice and probation, family support and court proceedings, supported housing, recovery aftercare and workplace recovery programmes.

For providers, the appeal is measurable evidence: sustained abstinence, treatment completion, engagement and safeguarding data that can support commissioning decisions without relying solely on self-report.

Source: dbrecoveryresources