Media Coverage

Ten years ago, drug overdoses claimed nearly 42,000 lives annually in the United States. By the end of 2021, that number climbed to nearly 108,000. Today, the drug crisis shows no signs of abating, and remains largely fueled by increased access to illicit drugs as well as barriers to healthcare access exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the last decade, Quest Diagnostics, through its Health Trends program, has examined insights gleaned from results of our large volume of clinical drug tests, with a goal of empowering better patient care, population health management and informing public health policy.

Anyone who has had medical tests performed likely knows about Quest Diagnostics. The Secaucus-based company is perhaps the most prominent testing company in the world. For this edition of NJBIZ Conversations, Wendi Mader – Quest’s vice president of the commercial employer channel – talks about what it was like to play that role and discusses how she and her staff continue to help businesses identify and mitigate health risks faced by their employees.

Pack Health, a Quest Diagnostics company, has unveiled plans to nearly double the space of its headquarters in Birmingham and add at least 200 full-time employee positions. The project is based on economic development incentives from the state of Alabama in recognition of the public benefits accruing from the expansion of Pack Health's landmark Birmingham facility.

In a wide-ranging presentation at the 41st Annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Quest Diagnostics' new President and CEO Jim Davis addressed multiple segments of the business, including Quest's hospital and physician laboratory market, advanced diagnostics, and the growing consumer-initiated testing (CIT) efforts.

Quest Diagnostics workforce drug testing data showed that nearly one in 10 (9.7%) post-accident drug tests was positive for a drug — underscoring the considerable role drug use plays in workforce accidents. The most troubling aspect of the Quest data was the finding that positivity for marijuana in 2021 was 63% higher in post-accident testing than pre-employment testing, suggesting some individuals who pass pre-employment screens use the drug post-hire.