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