Media Coverage

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.

Two years after legalizing recreational marijuana, Nevada is telling job seekers: Light 'em up![CR-LF][CR-LF]Starting next year, employers won't be allowed to reject potential job seekers because they failed a test for marijuana use. According to a new law signed this month, an employer can't "fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee because the prospective employee submitted to a screening test and the results of the screening test indicate the presence of marijuana."[CR-LF][CR-LF]The substance remains illegal on the federal level, and is the most commonly detected illicit drug in employment drug testing, according to Quest Diagnostics. Traces of the drug can persist in someone's body for as long as 30 days after the last time they used it, some studies have found.

A positive test for marijuana in pre-employment drug screenings won't be a problem for most people in Nevada, beginning next year.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Nevada became the first state to approve such a drug test law last week, two years after recreational marijuana sales began in the Silver State. The law will not apply to EMTs, firefighters and those who drive vehicles, however. Employers can also reject job applicants for marijuana drug test results if usage can put others' safety at risk.Nationally, about 2.8% of urine-based workplace drug screenings tested positively for marijuana in 2018, according to Quest Diagnostics, a drug-testing service. Marijuana is also the most commonly detected illicit drug, according to the service.

Quest Diagnostics, Secaucus, NJ, has launched three laboratory testing packages for some of the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and is making them available for online purchase by individuals across the continental United States.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The new STD testing packages are the first that any major national laboratory has made available for individuals to order at their discretion. The packages have been designed to meet the needs of individuals who want access to accurate basic or comprehensive STD testing, but are reluctant to engage their healthcare providers directly.

Last fall, Quest Diagnostics, a major drug-and-alcohol-testing provider, dug further into testing results by industry sector. Looking at both random and non-random testing, it found that between 2015 and 2017, the transportation and warehousing sector saw the largest overall increase in positive tests of any sector, in large part due to significant increases in positive tests for cocaine and marijuana. The sector’s overall positivity rate was lower than the majority of other sectors Quest reported on, but the rate of increase is a concern. Year over year, the rate of positive tests for cocaine increased 23% and for marijuana by 33%, Quest reported.

Why do companies use pre-employment drug testing? There are three circumstances in which workers encounter drug tests during the hiring process.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The first is when workers have applied for jobs subject to federally mandated safety testing. Some of those positions are government jobs, such as Customs and Border Patrol agents, while others are in private sector industries such as transportation and nuclear power production. Companies test for drugs using three main specimen types: urine, hair and oral fluid. Each one has different detection windows, advantages and disadvantages.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Urine is the most common sample type, and it's currently the only type permitted by federal testing rules, says Barry Sample, senior director of science and technology at Quest Diagnostics, a clinical laboratory that performs drug testing for employers.