Media Coverage

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the health and healthcare disparities that have long affected underserved communities. Those who suffer from chronic illnesses may have delayed or stopped testing and treatment during the pandemic. That’s why Quest Diagnostics is teaming up with former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warrick Dunn and several Tampa Bay nonprofits to provide free health services to those 18 and older.

Almost everyone expected 2020 would be a difficult year for substance abuse. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control released the latest drug overdose death statistics showing not only the scope of the addiction crisis but the prevalence of fentanyl in illicit drug fatalities. Dr. Jeff Gudin, a senior medical adviser in drug monitoring and toxicology for Quest Diagnostics, started noticing a worrying trend of polysubstance abuse pick up in the spring of 2020 while monitoring the results of drug tests.

With the implementation of Pap tests and testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV), cervical cancer rates have significantly declined. However, in recent years, a debate has emerged about the benefit of cotesting, that is Pap plus HPV together, versus HPV primary alone, leaving patients and many clinicians confused about what is the best path to monitor their cervical health; By Damian P. Alagia, III, MD.

A study published in May found that screening for STDs in the U.S. dropped by 40 percent from the start of the pandemic in late February 2020 to April 2020. Testing rebounded in June 2020, but by then, positivity rates for chlamydia and gonorrhea had both increased from the year before.

Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Quest Diagnostics recently released corporate social responsibility reports detailing their efforts to promote access, diversity and inclusion both internally and externally among the communities they serve. "We continue to have conversations between supervisors and team members on what we need to address," said Cecilia McKenney, senior vice president and chief human resource officer, Quest Diagnostics.