Media Coverage

Positive drug tests among U.S. workers hit the highest level since 2001 last year, according to an analysis released Wednesday by Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest drug-testing laboratories in the country.

The percentage of working Americans testing positive for drugs hit a two-decade high last year, driven by an increase in positive marijuana tests, as businesses might have loosened screening policies amid nationwide labor shortages. Of the more than six million general workforce urine tests that Quest Diagnostics Inc., one of the country’s largest drug-testing laboratories, screened for marijuana last year, 3.9% came back positive, an increase of more than 8% from 2020, according to Quest’s annual drug-testing index.

COVID-19 mandates in the U.S. are loosening or in some cases the restrictions are being eliminated. However, one thing that remains strong is the desire to understand more about the respiratory disease, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2. To that end, the Centers of Disease and Control and Prevention has contracted Quest Diagnostics to employ a comprehensive menu of COVID-19 antibody tests and data analytics services to research the disease. Quest won the $19.5 million contract in a competitive bid.

The Quest Diagnostics Foundation has donated $500,000 to Project Health Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE) to aid humanitarian crisis relief for Ukraine and for Ukrainian refugees in Eastern Europe.

The Covid-19 pandemic has hastened consumers’ willingness to test for more medical conditions at home, test makers said, expanding the market for self-diagnostic products. Manufacturers are developing new types of at-home tests, including for flu and strep throat, aimed at consumers who are increasingly monitoring and managing their own health through fitness apps and smartwatches. Cathy Doherty, an executive at Quest in charge of the consumer-testing business, said Quest’s research shows that consumers are interested in a wider range of at-home tests, but many still prefer visiting a doctor’s office or testing center to make sure the tests are performed correctly.

Choose Healthy Life's lead church in Newark, Metropolitan Baptist Church and its Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. David Jefferson Sr. Esq., along with all the pastors from Choose Healthy Life churches in the city joined with the Mayor of Newark Ras Baraka and Choose Healthy Life Founder Debra Fraser-Howze to acknowledge the major contribution of the Black clergy to address the COVID-19 pandemic with testing and vaccination events. “We saw firsthand the disproportionate impact COVID-19 had on the Black community and the vast health inequities it unveiled,” said Ruth Clements, Vice President and General Manager of Infectious Diseases & Immunology and leader for Quest for Health Equity at Quest Diagnostics.

Serving consumers interested in ordering their own clinical laboratory tests is a goal in an expanded collaboration involving Quest Diagnostics and Walmart. This is also consistent with The Dark Report’s prediction that retail pharmacies are poised to expand the diagnostic testing services they offer to customers. The development gives Quest a greater chance to meet patients online while also capitalizing on the growing familiarity of consumer-initiated testing, said Cathy Doherty, Senior Vice President and Group Executive of Clinical Franchise Solutions and Marketing at Quest.

Businesses are in a hiring spree in the middle of what’s called “the Great Resignation.” Meanwhile, they’re also working to keep their current employees by conducting the opposite of an exit interview. The number one reason employees stay or leave is how much they trust their immediate supervisor. It's a message that resonated with Cecilia McKenney, the head of human resources for Quest's 50,000 employees.

A new study found an increasing amount of younger adults are being diagnosed with colorectal, rectal, and colon cancer. The research found those in their 20’s had a 133% increase in rectal-only, distant-stage cancer over a 16 year period. Doctors continue to encourage getting colon cancer screenings and talking to your doctor about family health history. Harvey Kaufman, M.D., senior medical director of Quest Diagnostics adds that colorectal cancer has a link to weight, and given adolescent obesity rates are on the rise, there could be a connection there.

Quest Diagnostics' longtime CEO Stephen Rusckowski seems to be taking the old adage to "quit while you're ahead" very seriously. On Thursday, the same day that it published a 2021 earnings report illustrating what was easily its strongest year yet, the lab testing giant announced that Rusckowski will step down from his place at the helm at the end of October.