Media Coverage

Democratic presidential candidates' calls for "Medicare for all" may seem like a threat to profits and innovation in the U.S. healthcare sector, but not all industry executives see it that way, even in the remote chance such a proposal is enacted. Some healthcare executives say giving the public the option of government coverage could actually be a net plus for the industry by adding more customers, particularly the estimated 44 million citizens who have no coverage. For companies like Quest Diagnostics, the largest provider of lab services, the answer is to roll up the industry to give it pricing power. "There are hundreds of laboratory companies, so our acquisition strategy is to consolidate the industry," CEO Stephen Rusckowski told Mergermarket. The company expects to spend an average of $250 million to $300 million a year on acquisitions.

While staffing shortages are one of main challenges facing the lab industry, some employees are seeing a benefit in the form of rising compensation. During Quest Diagnostics' Q4 earnings call last month, CFO Mark Guinan said that the company had seen "rising wage pressure" due to the tightening labor market. Quest President, Chairman, and CEO Steve Rusckowski noted that the firm was primarily seeing this pressure at what he called "the front end of our value chain," meaning positions like couriers and specimen processing where it competes for workers not only with other labs but also with employers outside the lab industry.

UNT Health Science Center and Quest Diagnostics are collaborating to improve outcomes for high risk patients in underserved populations. Quest, which is the leading diagnostic information services company, will use its massive trove of data from its diagnostic business to provide guidance on how to manage populations effectively.

With its recent acquisition of Finnish molecular diagnostics firm Blueprint Genetics, Quest Diagnostics is looking to expand and improve its genetic testing portfolio.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The lab company was particularly interested in Blueprint's informatics capabilities, which Carrie Eglinton Manner, Quest's senior vice president of Advanced Diagnostics, said would enhance its existing genetic test offerings by improving variant interpretation and reporting.[CR-LF][CR-LF][CR-LF]"We have full next-generation sequencing services in a number of our labs," she said. "The capability that we are really excited about is their bioinformatics capability. Their bioinformatics has a depth and flexibility, including software engineering expertise, that we can apply to our entire portfolio… to help accelerate [bringing] test offerings to market as well as expanding growth for the company."

Long Island companies may have to rethink their drug testing policies as state lawmakers renew a push to legalize recreational marijuana.[CR-LF][CR-LF]A bid for legalization narrowly failed last year. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who included the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act in his new budget, made it clear last month in his State of the State address that it's one of his top priorities. The New York State Bar Association threw its support behind legalization last month.

The human brain has a unique ability to take in information, block out unnecessary data, analyze it and issue a motor response—all within fractions of a second. It is one of the many reasons why humans are at the top of the food chain.[CR-LF][CR-LF]But the ability to process information, make a quick decision and act accordingly can be affected when under the influence of marijuana. All the steps involved in decision making slow down, which can—in some cases—cause catastrophic, unintended effects.

Mayor Erin Stewart held a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday afternoon for Quest Diagnostics’ newest Patient Service Center at One Grove Place.

Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Memorial Hermann Health System, a leading not-for-profit health system that includes 17 hospitals and more than 300 care delivery sites in the Greater Houston region, announced a multi-pronged, long-term collaboration intended to broaden access to innovative, high-value laboratory services for providers and patients in Greater Houston.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest and Memorial Hermann have executed a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire select assets which constitute substantially all the operations of Memorial Hermann Diagnostic Laboratories (MHDL), the outreach laboratory division of Memorial Hermann. The acquisition includes nearly 30 MHDL patient service centers and nearly 60 in-office laboratory service sites. These services will transition to the Quest Diagnostics full-service laboratory in Houston. Upon closing, Quest will also provide professional laboratory management services through a multi-year agreement for all of Memorial Hermann's 21 hospital laboratories, which provide onsite rapid response testing. Memorial Hermann will continue to wholly own these labs.

Quest Diagnostics today reported a 5 percent year-over-year rise in revenues for the fourth quarter, beating the consensus expectation from Wall Street analysts.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Revenue for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2019 was $1.93 billion, up from $1.84 billion in the same quarter last year. The consensus Wall Street estimate was $1.92 billion.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Test volumes grew 4 percent during the quarter with revenue per test growing a little more than 1 percent.[CR-LF][CR-LF]During a conference call following release of the results, Quest Chairman, President, and CEO Steve Rusckowski, said that expanded access to healthcare plan networks combined with good operational execution allowed the company to counter what he called "significant reimbursement pressure."

Companies, we all know, need to make a profit to prosper and survive. Making a buck, after all, is important to investors, employees and vendors. But over the years, executives have come to realize that they need to do much more. That is, by giving back to the communities they operate in and standing up as good neighbors and citizens.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Newsweek partnered with global data research firm Statista Inc. to publish our first ranking of America's Most Responsible Companies. As you will see from our description of the methodology, Statista worked from a universe of 2000 public companies to determine which firms were tops when it came to doing good. Quest Diagnostics is number 164.

A new study provides a look at the levels of such similarity between married partners when it comes to their heart health, in hopes of finding ways to lead more people to be like the Kellys.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Researchers examined five years of biometric measurements and blood test data from 5,364 couples. The researchers then charted how each partner measured up against seven modifiable risk factors for heart disease (smoking, exercise, diet, body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting glucose) and for overall cardiovascular health.

Quest Diagnostics and Memorial Hermann Health System, a leading not-for-profit health system that includes 17 hospitals and more than 300 care delivery sites in the Greater Houston region, today announced a multi-pronged, long-term collaboration intended to broaden access to innovative, high-value laboratory services for providers and patients in Greater Houston.

Doctors worry that a second drug epidemic is on the horizon, according to a recent survey. We’re still amid the opioid crisis, but 62 percent of the primary care physicians queried say it’s likely to morph into a whole new emergency, this time fueled by prescription drug misuse.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Physicians in that survey, conducted by the Center on Addiction and Quest Diagnostics, were focused on people in chronic pain who, deprived of opioids, may find relief by turning to other prescription drugs such as benzodiazepines like Valium. That’s a critical concern, but there’s another important issue that requires our urgent attention: Too many teens and young adults don’t understand that the drugs we count on to treat our medical problems can be dangerous if misused.

Quest Diagnostics today announced that it has acquired Blueprint Genetics in an all-cash equity transaction. Blueprint Genetics is a leading specialty genetic testing company with deep expertise in gene variant interpretation based on next generation sequencing (NGS) and proprietary bioinformatics. Together, Quest and Blueprint Genetics will broaden access to actionable insights in genetic and rare diseases, improving patient care and pharmaceutical drug research and development. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

You decided to screen workers for drug use because you want to maintain a safe and productive workplace. But what should you do when workers flunk the test? Should employees be fired, given another chance or referred to an employee assistance program? Employment attorneys say consistency is the key.[CR-LF][CR-LF]"Employers should have strong policies in place addressing whether or under what circumstances they will engage in dialogue with an employee or applicant who fails a drug test," said Jill Vorobiev, an attorney with Reed Smith in Chicago. Policies also should take into account any state laws that may apply to failed drug tests and whether the employer might need to make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities, she said.

Twenty-three New Jersey companies have been recognized as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the country’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization.[CR-LF][CR-LF]According to the 2020 Corporate Equality Index, more than 680 companies were assessed and designated with the honor for their efforts in satisfying four criteria ⁠— non-discrimination policies, employment benefits, corporate social responsibility and responsible citizenship ⁠—earning them a score of 100%. Quest is included in this list.

Quest Diagnostics today announced that it has been selected as one of FORTUNE's World's Most Admired Companies in 2020 for the sixth consecutive year.

From makeup and oils to capsules for stress relief, cannabis-based goods are flowing into the marketplace. But while they may not get you high, they can still cause you problems at work. Cannabidiol or CBD has been showing up in a widening array of goods. That's because federal legislation in 2018 deemed that hemp - one of its sources - was not an illegal controlled substance.

Employers must provide a safe work environment, and they want to ensure their employees are productive, but is maintaining a drug-testing program in furtherance of these goals worth the hassle? The answer may depend on the workplace.[CR-LF][CR-LF]"You have to consider the needs of the business, in addition to any applicable state laws," said Anne-Marie Welch, an attorney with Clark Hill in Birmingham, Mich. Some employers are federal contractors or hire drivers and have to follow specific drug-free workplace laws. Other employers are struggling to find qualified employees or want to maintain a certain culture and think that drug testing—particularly for marijuana—will hinder their ability to attract and retain talent.

LabCorp and Quest went into 2019 predicting some upsides to the Protecting Access to Medicare Act​ (PAMA), which is driving down how much Medicare pays for tests. The clinical laboratory leaders objected to the price cuts but felt they were better equipped to cope with them than smaller rivals, creating opportunities to consolidate the market.[CR-LF][CR-LF]However, the anticipated surge in acquisitions of local and hospital laboratories never materialized. Adam Schechter, who took over as CEO of LabCorp in November, discussed some reasons for lack of M&A activity during a presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference Tuesday.

Now that recreational pot is legal in Illinois, marijuana enthusiasts may feel like it’s finally time to emerge from hiding.[CR-LF][CR-LF]But people with jobs — or looking for them — might want to stay in the shadows for now as companies figure out how to handle employees who partake.

Medical companies that develop tests to diagnose neurological disorders, heart disease risk and fetal abnormalities have been in legal limbo since a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that limited the patenting of such tests, finding they occurred in nature and were not invented.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The high court may signal as soon as Friday whether it will revisit the subject as such tests become critical to the burgeoning field of personalized medicine, in which doctors determine whether a patient is genetically susceptible to a particular disease or would respond to certain treatments.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated announced that it will report fourth quarter and full year 2019 results on Thursday, January 30, 2020, before the market opens. It will hold its quarterly conference call to discuss the results beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on that day

PreemploymentDirectory.com, the background screening news and information portal for Human Resources professionals and Hiring Managers, has published an informative new guide on 'How to Select a Drug & Alcohol Screening Provider' to help employers select the right drug screening provider to meet their hiring needs at a time when drug use is on the increase.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The 'How to Select a Drug & Alcohol Screening Provider' guide was written specifically to help employers to select a drug testing provider who can meet their company's needs and to guide them in defining a successful program. Nina French, Managing Partner, Current Consulting Group, captures the intent of the Guide very well when she states, "Building a house relies on a good architect, a great contractor and excellent communication with the owner. Selecting the wrong vendors can be both expensive and frustrating. Likewise, a great substance abuse testing program takes great design, implementation and ongoing support. Understanding and translating your program design is key to building a successful partnership and selecting the right partner."

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ), the state's largest locally based healthcare insurer, and Sharecare, the digital health company that helps people manage all their health in one place, today announced a strategic partnership to empower every Arizonan, regardless of insurance coverage, to improve their holistic health and well-being. Additionally, this deal provides exclusivity to BCBSAZ as the only Arizona-based health plan to offer the Sharecare platform to members or commercial customer groups.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced December 27, 2019, that it is doubling the minimum annual percentage rate of random drug testing for commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers. The agency is raising the minimum random drug testing rate of commercial driver’s license (CDL) holders from the current 25 percent to 50 percent for calendar year 2020.

DNA testing kits were a popular gift over the holidays, and now one company is offering users the chance to learn more about their health as well as their past. NBC investigative and consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen joins TODAY with what you need to know.

Hackers have accessed over 7.9 billion consumer records so far this year, with experts predicting that over 8.5 billion accounts will be exposed by the end of the year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The majority of the over 5,000 data hacks this year Risk Based Security has tracked so far consisted of only a few million accounts. Yet there were a few mega hacks that involved hundreds of millions.[CR-LF]In early June, lab-testing company Quest Diagnostics announced that it found a data breach affecting its billing and collections vendor, the American Medical Collection Agency.

23andMe tests for 29 variants of the CFTR gene that causes cystic fibrosis, he said, while his department uses Quest Diagnostics to test for 161. Quest also offers a broader test that can look for about 1,000 variants associated with 98 percent of cystic fibrosis cases. More than 1,700 variants of this gene have been discovered, according to the CF Foundation.

With the possibility of legalizing recreational marijuana appearing on the 2020 ballot, the Florida House Health Quality Subcommittee continued hearings on the potential consequences of legalizing cannabis on Wednesday. [CR-LF] [CR-LF]Pro-legalization advocates have raised concerns that lawmakers have focused too much on the negatives and given little time to the positives.[CR-LF] [CR-LF]Members heard from economics professor Dr. Rosalie Pacula with the University of Southern California.[CR-LF]And a drug testing lab, which suggested its research shows employees have steadily been increasing marijuana use over the past decade.[CR-LF] [CR-LF]“There's been a 70 percent higher self-reported use of marijuana among those respondents not subject to employer drug testing,” said Dr. Barry Sample with Quest Diagnostics.

The laws about marijuana in Wisconsin aren't changing. But recent legalization of recreational marijuana in neighboring states and shifting societal norms are causing employers to rethink how to treat cannabis use. [CR-LF][CR-LF]Calls to MRA's human resources hotline about workplace drug testing increased in recent months. Employers are asking just how exactly the changing tides will affect them. [CR-LF][CR-LF]The laboratories that carry out employer-based drug testing, such as Quest Diagnostics, do not see evidence that people are abandoning the practice, said Quest Diagnostics Director of Science and Technology Barry Sample.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated announced today the pricing of a public offering of $800 million aggregate principal amount of its 2.950% senior notes due 2030 under the Quest Diagnostics' shelf registration statement.

North Carolina’s governor has announced that a clinical trial lab services provider will add 749 jobs at a new facility over the next few years.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement Wednesday that Q Squared Solutions LLC will invest $73 million in the Durham-based facility that’s expected to grow over seven years.The company is described as a joint venture between IQVIA and Quest Diagnostics that offers laboratory services and biospecimen management among other services.

For blockchain to be successful in healthcare, it needs to scale. This is why collaborations have been created between major healthcare organizations to grow the technology.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In April 2018, five healthcare giants — Humana, MultiPlan, Quest Diagnostics, UnitedHealthcare Group and Optum, launched the Synaptic Health Alliance, a pilot program using blockchain to ensure health plan provider directors include up-to-date physician information.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Since then, St. Louis-based Ascension and Aetna have joined the project.

As the United States tries to wean off prescription opioids, physicians worry about the impact on chronic pain patients: Doctors are concerned that many chronic pain patients will turn to illicit drugs if they do not have access to prescription opioids, according to a new report from Quest Diagnostics. For the report, researchers polled 500 primary care physicians (PCPs) and analyzed 4.4 million lab test results.

Stewardship is defined as “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.” In health care, laboratory administrators are frontline stewards, providing quality, appropriate laboratory services to guide patient care. [CR-LF][CR-LF]But laboratory administrators are increasingly in charge of a different kind of stewardship—managing the cost of laboratory spend and achievement of financial incentives for meeting lab-based quality metrics. That’s because laboratory testing drives most health care decisions, with significant downstream consequences on patient outcomes and costs.

Robotic process automation (RPA), or bots that can be programmed to perform tedious and mundane tasks, is undergoing a period of explosive growth. Deloitte reports that 53% of companies have begun deploying it and that 78% of adopters will invest more in RPA in the next three years. In fact, assuming the current trend continues, it’s anticipated that RPA will achieve “near universal adoption” within five years.[CR-LF][CR-LF]One of the incumbents in the space is Automation Anywhere, which in the roughly 16 years since its founding has attracted over 3,500 customers in more than 90 countries, among them LinkedIn, MasterCard, Comcast, Hitachi, Stanley Black & Decker, IBM, Cisco, Symantic, Juniper Networks, Tesco, Unilever, Volkswagen, Whirlpool, Quest Diagnostics, Deloitte, Boston Scientific, Dell EMC, Accenture, Cognizent, Siemens, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the World Bank.

Among more than 100,000 patients enrolled in both commercial insurance and Medicare Advantage programs, researchers found that the annual percentage undergoing tapering doubled between 2008 and 2017.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In another recent survey, which was conducted by Quest Diagnostics and the Center on Addiction, more than four out of five doctors said they were reluctant to take on patients using prescribed opioids. They also said the opioid crisis made it more difficult to treat patients in pain.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing, information, and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic testing information and services, such as routine testing, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.

Neither vitamin D nor marine omega-3 (n-3) fatty acid supplementation significantly reduces the rate of first heart failure hospitalization, according to a research letter published online Nov. 11 in Circulation to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Heart Association, held from Nov. 16 to 18 in Philadelphia.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Luc Djoussé, M.D., Sc.D., from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the effects of vitamin D and n-3 supplements on the incidence of heart failure hospitalization in a large, multi-ethnic cohort with 25,871 adults; 36 participants with prevalent heart failure were excluded.[CR-LF]Two authors disclosed financial ties to Quest Diagnostics, which measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and serum omega-3 index at no cost; several pharmaceutical companies provided the study agents, matching placebos, and packaging.

A laboratory test that evaluates high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol function provides unique and novel information for assessing cardiovascular disease risk, according to data presented today (Abstract #1020) by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) at the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. The study is one of four the company will present at the conference, which runs November 16-18, in Philadelphia (Booth #1502).

Technology’s role in health care is creating new opportunities for established health care providers and insurers, as well as entrepreneurs.[CR-LF][CR-LF]That was the conclusion of a panel of health care experts at the Newark Regional Business Partnership series entitled: How Technology is Changing Health Care on Thursday in Newark.[CR-LF]Dr. Damian Alagia, chief clinical officer, Health Systems at Quest Diagnostics said that for an entrepreneur it is a great time to be in medicine.[CR-LF][CR-LF]“Anyplace in health care where you can put the patient in the center of everything you can do … if you look at health systems and doctors offices that are successful, they are the ones that kept the patients at the center, everything emanates from that patient care model. If you get that right everything else falls into place,” said Alagia.

Oxford Immunotec is seeing positive signs emerging from its strategic partnership with Quest Diagnostics in the US for sales of its interferon-gamma release assay for latent tuberculosis while new initiatives and an overhaul of its China business model are driving international growth.[CR-LF][CR-LF]This week, Oxford Immunotec reported third quarter financial results that beat the analysts' average expectations on both the top and bottom lines. On Tuesday, the maker of the T-Spot.TB test, with headquarters in Abingdon, UK, reported 32 percent growth year over year in total revenue and EPS $.03

Quest Diagnostics today announced that it has achieved Gold status in the American Heart Association's 2019 Workplace Health Achievement Index, ranking the company's workplace health initiative among the best in the nation. 2019 marks the second year in a row that Quest has earned this distinction.[CR-LF][CR-LF]More than 1,000 companies completed the Index assessment this year and those which received Gold recognition have demonstrated the highest level of achievement. The Index uses science-based best practices to evaluate the overall quality and comprehensiveness of workplace health programs.

With simpler acquisitions largely done, the larger labs may be in the next phase of their acquisition strategies — deals that require more labor and sweat.[CR-LF][CR-LF]During Quest Diagnostics' recent Q3 2019 earnings call, Chairman, President, and CEO Steve Rusckowski noted that while the company's lab "acquisition pipeline remains strong … most deals in our pipeline are taking more time to develop than they have in the past."[CR-LF][CR-LF]He cited the greater "complexity" of the acquisitions Quest was currently pursuing, saying that "conversations with hospital systems are getting broader," and added that hospital CEOs are interested in how the company "can help them with professional lab services and taking on more of their reference work."

Construction workers and others handling heavy duty machinery in hazardous conditions are more likely to misuse prescription opioid medication and use cocaine than other workers, according to a study released Thursday.[CR-LF][CR-LF][CR-LF]Earlier this year, Quest Diagnostics DGX, -0.46%, a company performing drug-test laboratory work, said there were double-digit increases in drug detection for six of 17 sectors. The tests look for the presence of drugs, including marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine and opiates.

During its Q3 earnings call last week, Quest Diagnostics provided an update on its plans to move its immunoassays to a single vendor as Chairman, President, and CEO Steve Rusckowski said that the company planned to announce that vendor in the near future.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The move to a single vendor will enable "greater throughput, a more efficient footprint, and is expected to save tens of millions of dollars per year," Rusckowski said, noting that this will help offset declines in test reimbursement due to the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA).

Did you know that our body produces Cannaboid (CBD)? Yes, that’s right! Our body has something called an Endocannabinoid system (ECS) which is also known as “the survival system”. Our ECS regulates everything from rest and relaxation to digestion to inflammation to organ and muscle performance, basically everything in our body that is connected to our brain and central nervous system. The ECS produces CBD which stimulates responses to naturally reduce aches, pains, improve mobility, flexibility, even moods, headaches, and sleep. If this is true, then you might be asking yourself, “Is my ECS even working?” Or maybe you are wondering, “If my body produces CBD why do some tell me this is a controlled substance and I could lose my job if I am using a CBD supplement?”[CR-LF][CR-LF]According to Quest Diagnostics Director of Science and Technology, Barry Sample, "If the product contains only CBD and has had the THC removed, then an individual being tested would not be expected to test positive for marijuana or marijuana metabolite." In other words, drug tests screen for THC, not CBD.

A federal court has given preliminary approval to a class action lawsuit against Quest Diagnostics field on behalf of individuals whose HIV testing data was exposed in a 2016 data breach.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The US District Court for the District of New Jersey approved on October 25, 2019, a $195,000 settlement between the plaintiffs and Quest under which lawsuit class members who are able to show they incurred monetary damages due to the breach can collect $250 each and members whose HIV test results were exposed can collect $75 each.

A federal court granted approval Oct. 25 to Quest Diagnostics to settle a class-action lawsuit that stemmed from a 2016 data breach for $195,000, according to GovInfoSecurity.com.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In November 2016, around 34,000 individuals may have had their protected health information exposed after an unauthorized third party gained access to the lab testing company's web application.