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Nearly one in five American workers tested positive for drug use in long-term screenings last year, driven by a rise in cannabis consumption that is forcing companies to reevaluate their hiring practices. According to new data from Quest Diagnostics, 19.1 percent of workers screened via hair analysis in 2025 returned a positive result, representing a 46 percent increase from 2021. Marijuana accounted for 52.5 percent of those positive hair tests.

Quest is the largest reference laboratory to embed oncology molecular ordering into OncoEMR MPI, with projected reach to 4,700 clinicians across ~1,600 community oncology sites. Integration targets administrative friction from multi-biomarker orders and dense reports by reducing ordering steps, accelerating account setup, and returning more usable results inside routine EHR workflows.

The Quest Diagnostics Foundation said this week that it has awarded nearly $5 million in grant funding to four Miami-area non-profits to improve chronic and maternal health outcomes. With the funding, which was granted to the Florida International University Foundation, Urban Health Partnerships, The Health Council of South, and US Hunger, the Quest Diagnostics Foundation aims to expand healthcare access in the area, including through no-cost lab testing.

Quest Diagnostics said Wednesday that its Haystack MRD test has received approval from the New York State Department of Health's Clinical Laboratory Evaluation Program (CLEP) for use in identifying residual or recurring disease in patients with a range of solid tumors. With the approval, Haystack MRD is now available for patient testing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Quest launched the circulating tumor DNA liquid biopsy test in late 2024.

A hard-to-kill species of pneumonia-causing bacteria that has traditionally been found mainly in hospitals is now spreading in U.S. community settings, according to research that could help lead to new treatments. To learn more about its patterns of spread, researchers analyzed multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae detected in urine and blood samples from more than 2,000 people in 42 states at local offices ⁠of Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of outpatient laboratory testing.

Over the past year, Alzheimer’s blood testing has moved from research into clinical practice. Since May 2025, the field has seen its first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared blood test and its first clinical practice guideline for blood-based biomarkers. Blood testing may also reduce the number of patients referred for amyloid PET imaging. Michael Racke, MD, medical director of neurology at Quest Diagnostics, points to research he co-authored suggesting that a blood test measuring amyloid beta 42 and 40 proteins (Aβ42/40) could reduce PET scan evaluations by about 40% by helping rule out Alzheimer’s disease as the cause of mild cognitive impairment. “Ruling out Alzheimer’s disease can prompt investigation of non-Alzheimer’s disease causes of mild cognitive impairment or dementia. When patients receive the right care at the right time, unnecessary costs may be reduced,” Racke says.

Chronic medical issues are frustrating for both doctors and patients, who just want to feel better. Tammie Robie, 51, struggled for nearly 20 years with blood pressure that was resistant against multiple medications. She pushed through her days as a wife, mother, teacher and competitive runner. Dr. Sanjay Dixit, the medical director for Quest Diagnostics, said PA was considered uncommon for many years. “Primary aldosteronism occurs when the adrenal glands produce too much aldosterone, a hormone that helps regulate sodium and potassium in the blood,” he said. The adrenal glands are located on top of the kidneys. According to Dixit, the Endocrine Society recommended in 2025 that all patients with hypertension be evaluated for PA. He notes that nearly half of all adults, or nearly 120 million people, have high blood pressure.

Postpartum body odor and sweating are common and generally not a cause for concern. Hormonal changes, milk production, and excess fluid shedding contribute to postpartum body odor. Damian Pat Alagia III, MD, MS, MBA, medical director for women’s health at Quest Diagnostics, explains that a pregnant person gains up to 10 pounds of amniotic fluid, blood, and other fluids.“Once the baby is born, the fluid needs somewhere to go," Dr. Alagia adds. Because of this, postpartum parents often experience increased sweating. "This is the body’s way of flushing out these excess fluids.”

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a serious condition that affects as many as 5 to 10 percent of adults with high blood pressure (BP). High BP is widely prevalent in the U.S., nearly half of all adults (almost 120 million individuals) have it. Yet, for many years, PA was considered uncommon. However, recent research shows PA is both prevalent and under-detected. Untreated, it significantly raises risk of heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia worldwide that leads to morbidity, long term care utilization, and significant healthcare costs. Dr. Yonghong Li and his colleagues at Quest Diagnostics performed a study to determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of using blood-based biomarker as a triage in Alzheimer’s disease testing. Dr. Michael K. Racke, Medical Director of Neurology at Quest Diagnostics and a co-investigator of this study summarized their findings.