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Quest Diagnostics, through its Cleveland HeartLab subsidiary, has entered into an agreement to purchase for $8.5 million certain assets of bankrupt testing firm True Health Diagnostics.

Michigan is preparing to usher in a new era with legal recreational marijuana sales in 2020, but the state's largest employers say their pre-employment drug screenings that include cannabis will not change. The state's residents already are failing pre-employment drug screening tests at a rate higher than elsewhere in the nation. According to Quest Diagnostics data, the numbers of people who didn't pass pre-employment drug screenings and likely lost potential job opportunities has increased by 31% from 2014 to 2018, and jumped more than 20% between 2017 and 2018, alone. A Quest Diagnostics scientist said the numbers suggest a spike in marijuana use.

Americans largely don't trust the healthcare system to secure their data, and one doesn't have to dig hard to find out why. In 2018, the healthcare sector retained the dubious honor of being the industry with the most data breaches, and less than a quarter of the country trusts health systems to protect their information, according to an August survey by the Harvard T.H. Chain School of Public Health. HHS first began requiring healthcare providers and their business associates to publicly disclose data breaches involving 500 people or more roughly a decade ago. Last year, nearly 300 breaches exposed the records of 11.5 million patients, and one single cybersecurity breach this year hitting the billing collection vendor for lab giants Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp affected the data of nearly 20 million patients.

Laboratory testing is one of the most commonly performed medical activities with, according to the American Clinical Laboratory Association, some 7 billion tests ordered each year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]A substantial number of those tests are likely unnecessary, however. A 2013 meta-analysis published in Plos One, for instance, found that roughly 21 percent of lab test orders represented over-utilization, meaning they didn't add information that was useful to patient careAt the same time, the study put the test underutilization rate at almost 45 percent, indicating that in a substantial proportion of cases, potentially useful tests are never used.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Also last week, Quest Diagnostics announced it had developed in collaboration with bioinformatics firm Hc1 a test utilization optimization system using Hc1's machine learning technology.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Called Quest Lab Stewardship, the product is part of Quest's broader move into providing lab management services for hospitals and health systems.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The system uses guidelines developed by the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely initiative to assess the appropriateness of test orders combined with Hc1's data analysis and integration capabilities to help hospital systems make more effective use of that appropriateness data.

A truck driver who says he took CBD oil for injuries to his hip and back that he suffered in a vehicle accident is suing the company that produced the product, alleging mislabeling.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The lawsuit says that the label stated the product contained no THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound in marijuana that produces a high. But following a random drug screening, Douglas Horn, of New York, was told by his employer that he tested positive for THC, his lawsuit states.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Employees subject to random drug tests need to be especially careful, said Barry Sample, director of science and technology solutions for Quest Diagnostics, a global diagnostic test and information network.

The National Business Group on Health presented 50 employers with 2019 Best Employers: Excellence in Health & Well-Being awards at its Workforce Strategy 2019 Conference in San Diego this week.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Now in its 15th year, the Best Employers: Excellence in Health & Well-Being awards recognize employers with exceptional commitment to improving their employees’ overall well-being, productivity and quality of life. The awards program incorporates a wide range of well-being contributors including financial security, mental and physical health, social connectedness and community involvement. Quest Diagnostics is listed as a Gold member.

The rate of newly diagnosed acute and chronic hepatitis B virus infections in women of childbearing age has significantly increased in some Appalachian states, despite overall national rates that have declined or remained stable.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Researchers suggested that injection drug use and waning HBV vaccine effectiveness may be contributing to this trend. “Women of childbearing age represent a priority group for HBV viral elimination efforts due to the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HBV,” Harvey W. Kaufman, MD, MBA, FCAP, senior medical director of medical informatics at Quest Diagnostics, told Infectious Disease News. “Higher rates of acute and chronic HBV among women of childbearing age may increase the rates of HBV infection among infants.”

Quest Diagnostics confirmed it has been cleared in US District Court for the Central District of California Western Division of misappropriating trade secrets from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in developing a serological test for irritable bowel syndrome.[CR-LF][CR-LF]A jury last week determined that Quest did not steal trade secrets from Cedars-Sinai or breach its contract with the hospital when it developed an IBS test similar to one developed by Cedars-Sinai researchers.

Quest Diagnostics announced today that Manuel O. Méndez has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer effective October 7, 2019.

Positive DOT drug tests will be tracked in the new Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse database.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Photo courtesy Quest Diagnostics.The federal Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse is finally rolling out in January 2020. This electronic database that will track commercial driver’s license holders who have tested positive for prohibited drug or alcohol use, as well as refusals to take required drug tests, and other drug and alcohol violations. In addition, when a driver who has been found to be in violation completes the required return-to-duty process, this information will also be recorded in the clearinghouse.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The clearinghouse has long been sought as a way to keep commercial drivers who have violated federal drug and alcohol rules from lying about those results and simply getting a job with another motor carrier.

Hospitals frequently license the research and development from their physicians to generate what can be substantial revenue.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Indeed, intellectual property is the bread and butter investment for many academic and nonprofit health systems, helping to bring in some return while allowing physicians, who often develop those innovations themselves, to retain some benefit. Earlier this year, Mayo Clinic said it has generated $600 million in revenue from licensing its IP since 1986.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The dispute between Cedars-Sinai and Quest Diagnostics involves a noninvasive blood test to detect IBS developed by Cedars-Sinai doctor Mark Pimentel.

Quest Diagnostics, the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and hc1, the bioinformatics leader in precision testing, unveiled Quest Lab Stewardship powered by hc1, an innovative new service that employs machine learning to harmonise laboratory testing across health systems in order to help optimise laboratory test utilisation.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest Lab Stewardship is the result of a strategic collaboration between Quest and hc1 focused on improving costs and clinical impact of lab testing, in- and out- of hospital settings.

Delaware Health Information Network and Quest Diagnostics have been working together for some time, and the network now has extended Quest’s participation as a data provider in Delaware, submitting lab results and clinical data to DHIN. With the new agreement, Quest results will be available to healthcare practitioners statewide through DHIN delivery channels and the Community Health Record’s searchable patient catalog, with the goal to give doctors more actionable information to improve outcomes. Formed in 2007, the Delaware network now offers nearly 20 services.

Quest Diagnostics and hc1 developed a new service that employs machine learning to harmonize laboratory testing across health systems in order to help optimize laboratory test utilization. [CR-LF][CR-LF] Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Quest Diagnostic's website. [CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and hc1, the bioinformatics leader in precision testing, today unveiled Quest® Lab Stewardship™ powered by hc1®, an innovative new service that employs machine learning to harmonize laboratory testing across health systems in order to help optimize laboratory test utilization.*

Quest Diagnostics and Hc1 are collaborating on a service called Quest Lab Stewardship, which will use Hc1's machine learning technology to help optimize laboratory test use. The technology will collect and analyze laboratory data to improve management of test usage and identify inappropriate or inefficient testing.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and hc1, the bioinformatics leader in precision testing, today unveiled Quest® Lab Stewardship™ powered by hc1®, an innovative new service that employs machine learning to harmonize laboratory testing across health systems in order to help optimize laboratory test utilization.*

Delaware Health Information Network and Quest Diagnostics have been working together for some time, and the network now has extended Quest’s participation as a data provider in Delaware, submitting lab results and clinical data to DHIN. With the new agreement, Quest results will be available to healthcare practitioners statewide through DHIN delivery channels and the Community Health Record’s searchable patient catalog, with the goal to give doctors more actionable information to improve outcomes. Formed in 2007, the Delaware network now offers nearly 20 services.

A recent study has demonstrated that machine learning methods can sort out which laboratory tests used in hospitals may have greater patient-care value, and which ones don't.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The study, which was led by Stanford University researchers and published this week in JAMA, analyzed data from 191,506 inpatients at three different hospitals to predict which diagnostic lab tests are medically unnecessary.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Just this week, laboratory testing firm Quest Diagnostics and healthcare solutions company Hc1 announced a partnership to analyze lab data to manage test usage and identify areas where lab tests are inappropriately ordered.

Quest Diagnostics and bioinformatics firm Hc1 yesterday announced a collaboration that has resulted in a service for optimizing lab test utilization across health systems.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Called Quest Lab Stewardship, the service uses hc1's machine learning technology to collect and analyze lab data, allowing systems to better manage test usage and identify areas where usage is inappropriate or inefficient.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and hc1, the bioinformatics leader in precision testing, today unveiled Quest® Lab Stewardship™ powered by hc1®, an innovative new service that employs machine learning to harmonize laboratory testing across health systems in order to help optimize laboratory test utilization.*

Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics, a provider of diagnostic information services, named Manuel O. Méndez senior vice president and chief commercial officer, effective Oct. 7.[CR-LF][CR-LF]“Manuel is a seasoned and dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in diagnostics and life sciences,” said Jim Davis, executive vice president, General Diagnostics at Quest. “His deep understanding of health systems and other customer segments will enable us to build on Quest’s strong Commercial foundation.”

One might not expect a dairy company to be a top innovator when it comes to providing healthcare to its employees, but Dallas’ Dean Foods has an award winning benefits plan that is keeping quality high while flipping eight percent annual increases to outright annual reductions.[CR-LF]The company wanted to increase preventative care, and said that if employees and dependents wanted to keep benefitting from their subsidized healthcare from Dean, they needed to get an annual physical, meaning their healthcare costs would nearly double. Partnering with Quest Diagnostics for biometric data, they learned a great deal about their employees from the physicals. That year, the number of annual physicals went from 3,200 to 27,000.

Quest Diagnostics and bioinformatics company Hc1 have announced the debut of Quest Lab Stewardship.

Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics announced Tuesday that Manuel O. Méndez has been named senior vice president and chief commercial officer.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The provider of diagnostic information services said the appointment will be effective Oct. 7.[CR-LF][CR-LF]“Manuel is a seasoned and dynamic leader with more than 25 years of experience in diagnostics and life sciences,” Jim Davis, executive vice president, General Diagnostics, said. “His deep understanding of health systems and other customer segments will enable us to build on Quest’s strong Commercial foundation.”

Lab testing giant Quest Diagnostics has teamed up with healthcare data analysis company hc1 to try to prevent health systems from ordering too many or too few tests, the organizations announced Wednesday.[CR-LF]The Quest Lab Stewardship service aims to arm providers with the tools to order the right tests, retrieve results quickly, interpret them accurately and ensure reimbursement. The service integrates with the electronic medical record to guide doctors as they order test, creates a systemwide set of tests and analyzes utilization trends.