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Quest Diagnostics recently surveyed over 500 physicians in coordination with The Harris Poll to uncover attitudes about the rising drug overdose crisis and the role of clinical drug testing in safely prescribing opioids. A key theme emerged from the findings: physicians believe clinical drug testing is critical for managing opioids and other prescribed controlled medications, but feel clearer guidelines are needed to help optimize its use.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, an expanded collaboration between Quest Diagnostics and IRIS (Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems) aims to increase convenience and improve screening rates for this condition.

As society begins to open back up again, we wanted to know your thoughts on health care and what you personally need to live fully. So together with QuestDirect™—a service from Quest Diagnostics® that makes it easy to buy lab tests online for at-home or in-person collection without visiting a doctor first—we asked Well+Good readers in a survey, and over 1,400 of you responded.

Working Americans tested positive for drugs last year at the highest rate in more than two decades, mostly due to an increase in positive marijuana tests, according to research from Quest Diagnostics.

Allergy responses start because you've come in contact with allergens, but a lot of them might be invisible to you, says Harvey Kaufman, MD, senior medical director at Quest Diagnostics, with a specialization in allergy testing. "Understanding the cause of your allergies and identifying sensitivity plays a pivotal role in managing seasonal allergies," Dr. Kaufman says.

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.

Steve Rusckowski discusses how the omicron variant impacted Q4 earnings on 'The Claman Countdown.'

The at-home testing market is bigger than just Covid tests, and it's bigger than over-the-counter pregnancy tests. In fact, the emerging marketplace of consumer-initiated lab testing may be worth more than $2 billion by 2025, according to Quest Diagnostics.

Quest Diagnostics said Monday that it will offer consumer-initiated lab testing in collaboration with Walmart. Quest said it is making more than 50 tests, including those for general health, digestive health, allergy, heart health, women's health, and infectious disease, available at Walmart.com through its QuestDirect service.

Clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics is launching an at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen test service that can certify results 24/7 via telehealth. The service enables the 15-minute self-administered Abbott BinaxNow COVID-19 home test to be used under observation from a certified telehealth proctor.

Quest Diagnostics will acquire the patient engagement company Pack Health, the organizations announced. "Quest Diagnostics and Pack Health have complementary capabilities that, when combined, will strengthen our ability to help health plans and other risk-bearing organizations deliver value-based care," Dermot Shorten, senior vice president of strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and ventures at Quest Diagnostics, wrote in an email.

Harvey Kaufman, MD, MBA, senior medical director at Quest Diagnostics, led a study for the company examining the impact of COVID-19 on prostate cancer screening and diagnoses. The results of the study are part of Quest Diagnostics Health Trends, which he has been involved with since it began in 2005 and now leads. CLP sat down with Kaufman prior to the Omicron surge to discuss the findings of the study and about the future of diagnostic testing in general.

Quest Diagnostics signaled an upbeat 2021 profit as COVID-19 testing volumes surged with the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in the United States. Quest said it performed over 120,000 PCR tests per day in the last couple of weeks of 2021, and over 150,000 tests a day at the beginning of this year.

At-home COVID-19 antigen tests are in high demand, and for good reason. They're quick, convenient, and can help you contain the spread of the infection. That said, the FDA has acknowledged that certain rapid antigen tests may be less sensitive to the Omicron variant, prompting speculation that there's got to be a better way. "As more countries continue the double-swab method, it may impact future FDA and CDC guidelines for those of us in the US. But it's important to reiterate that this method is currently not authorized by the FDA," says Jeffrey Dlott, MD, the medical director of consumer health at Quest Diagnostics, which conducts testing for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Quest Diagnostics, a diagnostic information services provider based in New Jersey, announced Dec. 14 it has acquired Labtech Diagnostics, an independent clinical diagnostic laboratory provider in Anderson, for an undisclosed sum.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics this fall suggested that more than half of all US children have detectable levels of lead in their blood – and that elevated blood lead levels were closely associated with race, poverty and living in older housing. “Most American children are exposed to lead, a substance that is not safe at any level,” said co-author Dr Harvey Kaufman, a senior medical director at Quest Diagnostics, which led the study.