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Quest Diagnostics and the bioinformatics company Hc1 have unveiled Quest Lab Stewardship, a service that uses machine learning to harmonize laboratory testing across health care systems in an effort to improve lab test utilization.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Quest Lab Stewardship “integrates in real-time with enterprise systems and leverages Hc1’s machine-learning capabilities to ingest, organize, and normalize lab data, alleviating the time and effort of manual data gathering and analysis,” according to a press announcement from Quest. “It also provides a framework for lab directors and hospital administrators to consult with medical staff to identify areas of concern and implement compendium updates and order prompting based on selected clinical guidelines.”

If you've been prescribed pain pills and think doctors are avoiding you as a new patient, you just might be right. [CR-LF][CR-LF]A large percentage of primary-care doctors (81%) say they're hesitant to accept new patients who've been prescribed pain meds, a newly released survey shows. Even more (83%) say the opioid crisis makes it harder to treat pain patients.[CR-LF]The new report, Drug Misuse in America 2019: Physicians Perspectives and Diagnostics Insights on the Evolving Drug Crisis, shows findings indicating that the opioid crisis continues to have a major impact on physicians and people in pain.

If you've been prescribed pain pills and think doctors are avoiding you as a new patient, you just might be right. [CR-LF][CR-LF]A large percentage of primary-care doctors (81%) say they're hesitant to accept new patients who've been prescribed pain meds, a newly released survey shows. Even more (83%) say the opioid crisis makes it harder to treat pain patients.[CR-LF]The new report, Drug Misuse in America 2019: Physicians Perspectives and Diagnostics Insights on the Evolving Drug Crisis, shows findings indicating that the opioid crisis continues to have a major impact on physicians and people in pain.

While reporting financial results for the third quarter on Tuesday, Quest Diagnostics Inc. (DGX) raised its earnings and adjusted earnings guidance for the full-year 2019. For fiscal 2019, the company now projects earnings in a range of $5.48 to $5.53 per share and adjusted earnings in a range of $6.45 to $6.50 per share on net revenues of about $7.72 billion.

Almost three-quarters of primary care physicians believe that their patients will take their controlled medications as prescribed, but more than half of drug-monitoring lab tests show signs of misuse, according to a new report from Quest Diagnostics.

There’s still a lot of work to do to bring the nation’s opioid crisis under control, but the health care industry needs to wake up and realize it’s only a matter of time before the same thing happens with a new drug. Over-prescribing other drugs could result in a new crisis, which is why prescription drug monitoring and additional training about the challenges of addiction is so critical for doctors.

Quest Diagnostics, Secaucus, NJ, and the precision testing company hc1, Indianapolis, have introduced a service to optimize the use of laboratory tests. Called Quest Lab Stewardship, the strategic collaboration will use the hc1 machine-learning platform to improve the clinical impact and cost of laboratory testing, both in and out of hospital settings.

Recognizing that safety concerns are paramount as decriminalization of cannabis continues in states throughout the U.S., the National Safety Council calls on employers to restrict cannabis use for those in safety sensitive positions – regardless of whether cannabis consumption is allowed by their state. In a policy position released today, NSC defines safety sensitive positions as those that impact the safety of the employee and the safety of others as a result of performing that job. Marijuana is the most frequently used illicit drug of abuse in the U.S. and the drug most often detected in workplace drug testing according to Quest Diagnostics.

Most primary care physicians (62%) fear the opioid drug crisis will be traded for a new prescription drug crisis and nearly three quarters (72%) worry that chronic pain patients will turn to illicit drugs if they do not have access to prescription opioids, according to a new Health Trends™ report from Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics. Seventy percent of primary care physicians wish they had more training on how to taper their patients off opioids.

Recreational marijuana use is now legal (or about to be) in 11 states and Canada. Driving under its influence is not. But if police suspect someone is driving high, they’ll have a difficult time proving it: Marijuana tests typically rely on urine samples, take days to analyze, and may only indicate that someone has used marijuana over the past days or even weeks, not whether they are actively impaired. Marijuana is the most commonly flagged substance in workplace drug tests, according to Quest Diagnostics, which sells testing services to employers. Nearly 3% of all screenings the company processed in 2018 tested positively for the drug (4.4% of screenings tested positive for any substance).