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.

There’s a trio of viruses spreading in the U.S. — COVID-19, the flu and RSV — and some in the medical world are calling it a “tripledemic.” If you’re feeling sick, it can be tough to differentiate among COVID-19, the flu and RSV because they share similar symptoms and can also look like the common cold. With COVID-19 and the flu, the CDC reports that “you cannot tell the difference between” the pair based on symptoms. Luckily, there is a test that can detect whether you have COVID-19, the flu and even RSV that you can get through a health care provider. Options include a test made by Labcorp and another created by Quest Diagnostics.

There’s no simple way to tell who has Alzheimer’s disease, but with a blockbuster treatment for millions of Americans on the horizon, blood-test makers are gearing up to change this. Even doctors who were initially skeptical about blood tests for the condition are gaining confidence that products from Quest Diagnostics Inc., Quanterix Corp. and C2N Diagnostics can help distinguish which patients may qualify for treatment with the experimental drug lecanemab, expected to be approved next year.

Flu season continues to dominate national headlines as cases rise and hospitals are overcrowded. As a result of a spike in influenza cases, hospitals are feeling the pressure. "The strain that this is putting on our healthcare system is certainly a concern," Dr. Hema Kapoor, Infectious Diseases and Immunology with Quest Diagnostics tells us. "The overlap that we're seeing with other viruses has also put additional stress on the system. Pediatric hospitals have been overwhelmed by patients with RSV, and while the CDC noted it appears transmission was slowing in areas of the country, we've been seeing an increase in hospitalizations due to flu and COVID-19."

Quest Diagnostics said Thursday that it has formed a strategic laboratory collaboration with Maine healthcare system Northern Light Health. Under the agreement, Quest will acquire select assets of Northern Light's outreach laboratory business, named Northern Light Laboratory, in an all-cash transaction and will provide management services for nine of the system's hospital labs, as well as its cancer center laboratory at Northern Light Cancer Care in Brewer, Maine.

Quest Diagnostics on Thursday announced a group purchasing agreement for its laboratory stewardship solution with Premier, a healthcare company uniting an alliance of hospitals, health systems, and providers.