Media Coverage

More people are high on the job, and it’s putting the public’s health and safety on the line.[CR-LF][CR-LF]One in three industries experienced double-digit percentage increases in the share of workers testing positive for a range of drugs between 2015 and 2018, according to a new analysis of more than 14 million urine drug tests results from Quest Diagnostics, a company that provides laboratory tests.

One third of U.S. industry sectors experienced year-over-year double-digit increases in workforce drug positivity between 2015 and 2018, according to a new analysis of industry-specific data by Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services. The findings will be presented at the Substance Abuse Program Administrators Association (SAPAA) conference in Philadelphia, PA on September 18, 2019.

Over the past 2 years, IBM’s Watson for Oncology cognitive computing system, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to generate treatment recommendations, has come under fire for allegedly not delivering on expectations to provide state-of-the-art personalized treatment for patients with cancer and for producing advice that is “unsafe and incorrect.”1,2 Since its inception in 2012, Watson for Oncology has undergone intensive medical training by oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York to learn key data associated with a patient’s cancer, such as results from blood tests; pathology and imaging reports detailing the type, size, and location of the tumor; and the presence of genetic mutations. The program then combs through huge amounts of medical literature to provide evidence-based treatment recommendations for that specific patient. To date, Watson has been trained to support treatment decisions in lung, breast, colorectal, bladder, cervical, endometrial, esophageal, stomach, ovarian, prostate, and thyroid cancers, and training will begin soon in several types of lymphomas.[CR-LF]In addition to Watson for Oncology, IBM has launched several other oncology-related offerings aimed at accelerating personalized patient care. They include Watson for Genomics, Watson Genomics from Quest Diagnostics (a Watson-powered genomic-sequencing service), and IBM Watson for Clinical Trial Matching, which uses natural language processing to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the clinical trial matching process.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced today that Manuel O. Méndez has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer effective October 7, 2019. [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. "His deep understanding of health systems and other customer segments will enable us to build on Quest's strong Commercial foundation."

Michele Ladouceur wanted to convince her friends that they could save money on routine lab tests by having them done at an independent laboratory. So she snapped photos of a poster in the lobby of the University Suburban Health Center in South Euclid that proved her point. The poster compares prices for routine medical tests at University Suburban, a nonprofit that runs an independent clinical laboratory and diagnostic imaging center, with those charged at area hospitals. A basic metabolic panel that averages $100 at some hospitals is $29 at University Suburban. An ankle X-ray that costs hundreds of dollars at local hospitals is $86 at University Suburban.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Independent labs range from large, national independent labs, such as LabCorp and Quest Diagnostics, to small, local independents.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest, based in Secaucus, New Jersey, is one of the largest diagnostic services company in the country, with 2,200 locations nationwide, including five in the Cleveland metro area.

Prescription data alone underestimated how many patients combined opioids and benzodiazepines, an analysis of Quest Diagnostics drug test data indicated.[CR-LF]Among a selected sample of patients whose drug test indicated concurrent benzodiazepine and opioid use, 64% had at least one benzodiazepine or opioid that was not prescribed, according to Quest researcher Leland McClure, PhD, and colleagues in a poster presentation at the 2018 PAINWeek conference.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration announced Thursday that health care premiums for some school and local government employees will fall more than two percent next year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Before the announcement, the School Employees’ Health Benefits Commission and the State Health Benefits Commission — boards comprised of management and labor members — approved health care and prescription premium rates for 2020.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Jennifer Sciortino, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department, said prescription drug and health benefit administrators are receiving commissions rather than a flat fee for negotiating prices with out-of-network providers. The state was able to remove thousands of people from its rolls after a dependent eligibility audit, and plans to move Quest Diagnostics in network should lower bills for lab work.

Population aging will lead to a rise in the prevalence of chronic health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and dementia (1). The prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the primary cause of dementia, is expected to reach 115.4 million worldwide by 2050 (2). Both AD and undiagnosed anemia are common conditions in nursing homes, with prevalences of around 45% (3). In fact, anemia affects 33% of the world's population, and about half the cases are due to iron deficiency (4). [CR-LF][CR-LF]Red cell distribution width, anemia, and other iron status measures[CR-LF]All laboratory tests selected for this study were done at Quest Diagnostics, Chantilly, VA, following a fasting blood draw, after which participants were offered breakfast.

Optimal health care requires humanism—not just scientific excellence, but also compassion and collaboration. This truth is understood intuitively by patients, their family members, and health care professionals. In 2017, in recognition of the importance of collectively strengthening humanism more broadly across the health care ecosystem, we created the Gold Corporate Council. Five corporations stepped forward to become founding members: BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), Henry Schein, Inc., IBM Watson Health, Medtronic, and Quest Diagnostics.

Forbes released its annual list of the country's most innovative leaders, comprising 100 founders and CEOs known for encouraging creative and highly successful innovation at their organizations.[CR-LF][CR-LF]To compile the list, leaders from top U.S. companies were ranked based on their media reputation for innovation, social connections and capital related to innovation, track record of market value creation and investor expectations of future growth and innovation. Exemplifying these qualities are Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Tesla's Elon Musk, who tied for first place.[CR-LF][CR-LF]83. Stephen Rusckowski, Quest Diagnostics

By now, the venture world is wary of blood testing startups offering health data from just a few drops of blood. However, Baze, a Swiss-based personal nutrition startup providing blood tests you can do in the convenience of your own home, collects just a smidgen of your sanguine fluid through an MIT manufactured device, which, according to the company, is in accordance with FDA regulations.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The idea is to find out (via your blood sample) which vitamins you’re missing out on and are keeping you from living your best life. That seems to resonate with folks who don’t want to go into the doctor’s office and separately head to their nearest lab for testing.The price is also nice, compared to going to a Quest Diagnostics or LabCorp, which can vary depending on which vitamins you need to test for individually.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced that it is scheduled to speak at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference in New York. Stephen Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO will discuss the company's vision, goals and two-point strategy to accelerate growth and drive operational excellence. The presentation is scheduled for Monday, September 9, 2019 at 11:40 a.m. Eastern Time.

Clinical laboratories and health insurers also are collaborating on blockchain projects. A recent intelligence briefing from The Dark Report, the sister publication of Dark Daily, describes collaborations between multiple health insurers and Quest Diagnostics to improve their provider directories using blockchain. (See, “Four Insurers, Quest Developing Blockchain,” July 1, 2019.)

Cannabis has long been heralded for its calming properties. But lately it’s having quite the opposite effect on HR professionals, as they navigate the myriad state laws and court cases affecting the controversial substance to create drug-testing policies and procedures.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Possession or use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law. But state laws are changing at a dizzying speed, including some that now limit a company’s ability to fire an employee for failing a drug test. Courts have begun siding with workers who say their off-duty use of cannabis for medical reasons led to their unfair dismissal. Recent court cases have left employers facing discrimination charges for taking action against workers who flunk marijuana tests. Nevada in June limited rejecting job applicants for failing a test. Even cities are getting into the act, with the New York City Council voting in April to ban marijuana testing for job applicants (with exceptions for such jobs as public-safety workers).[CR-LF][CR-LF]Barry Sample, Ph.D., director of science and technology for the employer solutions division of Quest Diagnostics, says the rate of positive tests has increased 35 percent since 2010 in places where marijuana is illegal and has risen even faster in states where it’s legal—in those areas it jumped 71 percent during that period.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced that it is scheduled to speak at the Baird 2019 Global Healthcare Conference in New York. Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO and Jim Davis, Executive Vice President, General Diagnostics will discuss the company's vision, goals and two-point strategy to accelerate growth and drive operational excellence. The presentation is scheduled for Thursday, September 5, 2019 at 11:25 a.m. Eastern Time.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated Strategy, SWOT and Corporate Finance Report, is a source of comprehensive company data and information. The report covers the company's structure, operation, SWOT analysis, product and service offerings and corporate actions, providing a 360 view of the company.

Prevention of heart disease has centered on smoking cessation, controlling blood pressure, achieving an appropriate weight, regular exercise, control of blood sugar, and control of your cholesterol. Despite addressing and controlling these items, individuals still have heart attacks and strokes and vascular events. Researchers are now directing their attention to a dietary metabolite of red meat called trimethlamine N-oxide or TMAO.[CR-LF][CR-LF]There is even a blood test to measure TMAO levels developed by the Cleveland Clinic and available through Quest Labs. Do not get too excited about asking your physician to order it on your blood because it requires eliminating meat, poultry, and fish plus other food items for several days in advance of the test.

With the recent launch of an automated microbiology system in its Marlborough, Massachusetts laboratory, Quest Diagnostics is looking to streamline a department that has seen less impact from automation than many other parts of the lab.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Sourced from lab automation firm Copan Diagnostics, the system is anticipated to cut costs and turnaround time and help address challenges facing clinical microbiology labs, including staffing shortages and reimbursement cuts.

Laboratory services that identify genetic markers of cancer help predict future cancer, identify existing disease, and guide treatment decisions in oncology care. Despite this foundational role in cancer care, laboratory test services often face coverage and reimbursement pressures from health plans that struggle to evaluate the tests’ clinical and economic value. Both oncologists and payers face an avalanche of information on diagnostic tests, which confuses treatment, coverage, and reimbursement decisions. Despite this, physicians and genetic counselors are willing to evaluate the data à la carte in the context of each patient. Genetic testing has quickly become an accepted aspect of mainstream medicine.1

In the last year, a record number of states have amended or enacted laws which regulate marijuana testing, accommodations, and use. Among these states, at least two states have specifically banned pre-employment testing of marijuana. Some states have also enacted provisions which protect employees from being discriminated against for obtaining a medical marijuana license, require reasonable accommodations and provide privacy rights outside of the workplace. In total, 15 states currently have medical cannabis laws that provide some form of explicit employment protection for medical cannabis users. Needless to say, the rapid progression in marijuana legalization has left employers “Dazed and Confused.”[CR-LF][CR-LF]According to the annual Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index, positive marijuana results have increased nearly 24 percent since 2014 for safety-sensitive employees in the federal workplace, who are subject to federally mandated drug testing.

Achievers, an industry-leading employee engagement platform provider, today announced the moderator and panelists of its Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) and Executive Leadership session, "The New Digital Workforce and the Future of Employee Engagement," taking place at its 2019 annual user conference, Achievers Customer Experience (ACE). The 2019 CHRO and Executive Leadership session will be moderated by former executive editor of Fast Company and editor and managing director of The Flux Group, Robert Safian. On stage, the esteemed panelists joining Safian will be:[CR-LF][CR-LF]Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Senior Vice President, People, Culture and Communications, Air Canada[CR-LF]Cecilia McKenney, Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer, Quest Diagnostics[CR-LF]Michael Agrir, CEO and President, Medxcel[CR-LF]Vanessa Thurston, Interim Vice President & Head of Talent Management, Samsung Electronics America

As Americans marijuana usages continue to climb, workplaces are taking a more lenient approach to drug testing. The Rockefeller Institute of Government recently released a new study looking into marijuana usage, finding more and more Americans are toking up big-time in all 50 states, whether it’s illegal or legal. In states where weed legalization hasn’t been passed, marijuana usage has grown 33% since 2002.Workforce drug positivity reached a fourteen-year high in 2018, according to an analysis by Quest Diagnostics, which discovered nearly a 5% increase (4.4%) in urine drug tests since 2017. The study based its analysis of nearly 9 million workforce urine drug tests performed between January and December 2018.

Some employees are stressed to death at work — literally. But the right benefits can help save lives.[CR-LF][CR-LF]A report gathered by the American Heart Association, and a coalition of over 40 CEOs from large companies — called the AHA CEO Roundtable — illustrated how mental health impacts employees’ physical health, and their employer’s bottom line. The report, “Mental Health: A Workforce in Crisis,” found around 8,000 employees around the world die every year from medical conditions — like strokes and heart attacks — caused by high job demands.[CR-LF][CR-LF]“In order to have a healthy workforce, employers must look at health and wellness holistically – and that includes mental health,” says Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Quest Diagnostics.

Large employers may be excited about recent research which looked at National Health Interview Survey data and found a near-term decline in new cases of diabetes as well as a plateau in existing U.S. cases. While the news that new cases of diabetes may be declining does sound promising, benefit managers should resist the urge to break out the champagne.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Although, it’s understandable why they would want to celebrate. More than half of Americans under age 65 — roughly 158 million people — have health insurance through an employer, and chronic conditions like diabetes are major drivers in the year-over-year increases in employee health benefit costs.

As night approaches at Allegheny County Airport, after most of the air traffic has come and gone, the flight crews of Quest Diagnostics are just getting started.[CR-LF][CR-LF]More than 3,700 Quest ground couriers deliver a wide range of medical samples, including vials of blood and bone marrow, from doctors’ offices and Quest outpatient centers to the airport. Crews load the samples on cargo jets for overnight flights to Quest laboratories to be tested.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has recently issued draft guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. This was written together with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). [CR-LF][CR-LF]The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has recently issued draft guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. This was written together with the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). They offer a public comment period until August 10, 2019.

A company offering to freeze donors’ T cells and save them until the day they are needed—perhaps even years before the onset of cancer or disease—is getting off the ground with $1 million in funding and partnerships with some of the largest operators in blood sample management and cold chain logistics.[CR-LF][CR-LF]As a kind of T-cell insurance, Cell Vault is pitching a simple concept: Today’s cutting-edge chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies require a starting point of donated T cells, which are genetically modified to better recognize, target and destroy tumor cells before being readministered to the patient. Elsewhere, mobile blood draw and sample collections will be completed by ExamOne, a Quest Diagnostics company. Cell Vault is also gathering medical advice from CAR-T specialists at the Medical College of Wisconsin

An employee has a beer or two with colleagues at a local bar after the work shift is over. Another heads home for a glass of wine with dinner. The next day, there is no alcohol impairment in the worker, and that’s why an employer would not have a problem with either of these scenarios. But even in states where cannabis has been legalized, drug testing continues to search for signs of marijuana use that in no way necessarily reflects worker impairment.The number of positives for drugs in the workforce has reached a 14-year high of 4.4%, according to an annual analysis conducted by Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest clinical laboratory testing companies. The rates of drug use are now more than 25% higher than the 30-year low of 3.5 percent recorded between 2010 and 2012.

Make sure the lab is in-network[CR-LF]If your insurance only covers lab work done at, say, Quest Diagnostics, but your doctor usually sends their samples to a different lab, you can end up footing the bill. Before getting your test done, double-check which labs will be covered by your insurance and be sure to notify your doctor; it’s just one question you should be asking your doctor but probably aren’t.

Quest Diagnostics reported today that its second quarter revenues grew a little less than 2 percent year over year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]For the three months ended June 30, total revenues reached $1.95 billion, up from $1.92 billion a year ago, and beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $1.94 billion.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest Diagnostic Information Services revenues also grew about 2 percent to $1.87 billion from $1.84 billion. On a conference call, Quest CFO Mark Guinan said that the increase was driven by strong volume growth and acquisitions, but partially offset by higher reimbursement pressures and patient concessions.

Quest Diagnostics compiles data on more than 10 million drug tests a year. Only a small number of companies have struck marijuana from the list of drugs they screen for, and nationally, roughly 99 percent of all general work force drug tests include marijuana.[CR-LF][CR-LF]“For the most part it hasn’t had a large effect in those recreational-use states and no measurable effect in the medical marijuana states,” said Barry Sample, Quest’s senior director for science and technology.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, announced today the expansion of the Global Diagnostics Network (GDN), a strategic working group of major diagnostic laboratories collaborating to generate enhanced diagnostics insights to improve the delivery of global healthcare. Regional companies LSI Medience, and Strand Life Sciences join Quest and the charter members -- Al Borg Medical Laboratories, Dasa, GC Labs, Healius, KingMed Diagnostics, SYNLAB – as GDN members.

Quest Diagnostics said today it has entered an agreement to provide Catholic Health Services of Long Island with laboratory management services and reference testing.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Under the agreement, Quest will provide CHS with lab testing as well as management of lab equipment, supplies, and procurement processes. The agreement covers six CHS hospitals, a core lab, a cancer center, and an infusion center.

Digital health firm Sharecare said today that it is collaborating with Quest Diagnostics on tools for digital health management.[CR-LF][CR-LF]As part of the collaboration, Quest has made a strategic investment of an undisclosed amount in Sharecare, which named Quest its preferred laboratory partner. The development of disease management programs and other services will also be explored, they said.

HHS recently announced the creation of the Quality Summit, which will bring together federal and private healthcare stakeholders to evaluate and streamline federal value-based care programs.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The summit is in response to the Trump Administration’s recent executive order calling for greater healthcare price and quality transparency. Physicians in a 2018 report from Quest Diagnostics also called for less complex quality measurement.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, today launched a new Lyme Disease test offering that individuals can purchase through Quest’s consumer-initiated testing service, QuestDirect.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The blood test screens for immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies produced by the body to fight infection to the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Through this service, individuals who suspect they have been bitten by a tick carrying Lyme disease can purchase laboratory tests to aid in the identification of Lyme Disease. Individuals 18 years of age or older may access the test service at any of Quest’s 2,250 patient service centers across the United States without first needing to consult a physician. The service is available in 45 states starting today.

In a fascinating LinkedIn post titled, “Who’s Responsible For Healthcare's Biggest Problems? 'Not Me.',” ​former Permanente Medical Group Chief Executive Officer and Exxecutive Director Robert Pearl, MD, observes that there is a lot of finger pointing at the “culprits” to blame for America’s failures to improve clinical outcomes and contain spending. [CR-LF]A recent Quest Diagnostics study presented at the recent ADA 79th Scientific Sessions found that individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes who take part in an employer-sponsored wellness program with digital interventions can reduce their risk of developing the chronic disease for up to 8 years. Sixty-two percent of participants lost weight after the DPP, with 31% losing 5% or more of body weight, and levels for all biometric markers in the risk model—including for glycated hemoglobin, high-density lipoproteins (HDL, or "good" cholesterol), fasting glucose, and triglycerides—improved across all study cohorts.

United Health Group announced its plans to invest around $8 million over the next five years to launch a data science initiative with the Atlanta University Center Consortium, a group of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), per Forbes. But VBC implementation has been a big headache for providers — and it's slowing adoption.Nearly 80% of US providers say the shift to value-based care reimbursement models hasn't been successful, according to a 2018 Medical Group Management Association survey of 426 individuals from group health practices. Because VBC relies on accurate data collection and reporting to calculate payment, the clerical burden on doctors has significantly increased. And close to 60% of payers think physicians lack the proper tools to find success under a VBC model, according to a 2018 Quest Diagnostics survey. This friction with providers is putting a major drag on VBC adoption: We reported last week that only 25% of healthcare organizations' revenue comes from VBC, per estimates from a 2018 Optum-sponsored survey.

Since the dawn of time, there have been women who get pregnant without a second thought—and in some cases without even trying—and there have been women who have had to endure years of struggling to conceive. Somewhere in between are the women who talk about kids “someday” with no indication of whether or not someday will ever actually come. Beyond that there are women who just don’t know what the future holds for them and for a lot of us, this is a source of existential anxiety.Modern Fertility is a hormone test you can order to your home or take to your local Quest Diagnostics so that you have a clearer picture of your reproductive future.

When employers invest in a digital diabetes prevention program (DPP), they want to see measurable clinical results and high levels of engagement. Quest Diagnostics recently demonstrated both in a partnership with Omada Health, with 62% of the participants losing weight and the average employee completing more than 25 lessons over 9 months.1 The findings were presented at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 79th Scientific Sessions.

At a time when clinicians are already increasingly switching to interferon-gamma release-based assays (IGRAs) for tuberculosis testing, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warned of an anticipated shortage of a key antibody for tuberculin skin tests (TSTs) conducted in clinics. [CR-LF]Hema Kapoor, medical director of infectious diseases and immunology at Quest Diagnostics, said in an interview that while the response to the current announcement will depend on how clinicians react to it, over the years she has seen continuing growth for IGRA testing, supported by guidelines that have recommended blood-based TB testing over skin testing for certain populations.

On the 25th June, Q2 released details of its completed Proof of Concept for tracking biological samples using distributed ledger technology (DLT). The project, with enterprise blockchain firm R3 and medical tech company HSBlox, involved a simulation of the entire process; collecting, transporting, testing, and storing the sample.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Q2, a joint venture of IQVIA and Quest Diagnostics to provide services to clinical trial labs, conducted the effort. Atlanta based HSBlox developed the patent-pending Digital Sample Manager for the project, which runs on R3’s Corda blockchain and Microsoft’s Azure.

On Jan. 1, Illinois became the 11th state to allow recreational marijuana sales. But despite its increasing availability in the U.S., laws to protect cannabis-using job seekers are still uncommon.[CR-LF][CR-LF]That’s changing in Nevada, which legalized recreational use of pot in 2017, and now bans employers from denying jobs to applicants who test positive for marijuana on a pre-employment drug test — excluding jobs with safety issues, like fire fighters or other emergency responders.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Such protections aren’t available in California, where recreational use has been legal since 2016 and medical use has been legal for more than two decades. That’s made finding work difficult for 20-year old Layla Larson, who said she uses cannabis daily to manage her epilepsy and anxiety.

A Quest Diagnostics webinar discussed how lab services fit in with value-based care strategies and could reduce total healthcare costs, improve care coordination, and enhance member experiences.[CR-LF]Laboratories can boost care coordination, reduce healthcare spending, and improve member experiences by applying innovative value-based care strategies, according to a webinar presented by Quest Diagnostics, In Value-Based Care Innovation: Collaborating With Labs. For the webinar, Quest reviewed data from survey reports regarding trends in healthcare and highlighted the company's effort to move away from traditional fee-for-service payment models.

Center on Addiction, a national nonprofit committed to transforming how the nation addresses addiction, released a report today that provides insights into teens' attitudes about drugs, alcohol and nicotine. The national survey of adolescents aged 12-17 found that drugs, alcohol and nicotine are highly prevalent and accessible in teens' lives, particularly as they enter high school. Teens also indicated that parents have the largest influence over their decisions and actions. Despite this, parents often pull back right when the risk of substance use spikes.Access to drugs, alcohol and nicotine is especially high among those with friends who use substances. According to the survey, 53% of teens with at least one friend who uses drugs said they would be able to get marijuana within a day or less, compared to 11% of teens who do not have any friends who use drugs. Those with friends who use drugs also find it much easier to access cigarettes (56% vs. 22%) and e-cigarettes (53% vs. 16%).[CR-LF][CR-LF]This survey was made possible by a grant provided by Quest Diagnostics.

A new law in New York City will prohibit most employers who operate there from conducting pre-employment drug testing for marijuana.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The law was passed last month and will go into effect May 10, 2020.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Certain positions, such as police officers, construction workers, commercial drivers, and workers caring for children or medical patients, among others, were excluded from the law.[CR-LF][CR-LF]About 2.8 percent of workers and job applicants tested positive for marijuana in 2018, according to Quest Diagnostics statistics.

Individuals with prediabetes who participate in an employer-sponsored digital diabetes-prevention counseling program may reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) for up to eight years, according to a new study from Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The new study, "Digital Behavioral Counseling in a Workforce Setting Reduces 8-Year Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes" (77-LB), is believed to be the first to suggest lower risk of diabetes may be sustained following participation in a time-limited digital Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). DPPs, which typically consist of education modules on diet and exercise, are recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an effective means of reducing risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Medicare beneficiaries who had both diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or a more advanced version of inflammation and fat buildup, known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), had 2 times the mortality rate of the general population, according to data presented last week at the 79th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association (ADA).[CR-LF][CR-LF]The Global Liver Institute is raising awareness about NAFLD and NASH, and Wednesday marked the second International NASH Day. Both NAFLD and NASH are increasing worldwide with the increased prevalence of obesity, which now affects more than 650 billion people.[CR-LF]Diagnosis of NASH is difficult, as a definitive diagnosis requires a liver biopsy. However, Quest Diagnostics has developed the NAFLD Fibrosis Score Panel, a noninvasive tool to identify patients whose disease has progressed to liver fibrosis.