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Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics, a provider of diagnostic information services, announced that it has acquired PhenoPath, a national provider of specialized anatomic pathology (AP) and related services. Based in Seattle, PhenoPath provides AP, molecular oncology and other services that complement and extend those of the company’s Advanced Diagnostics portfolio of services. These include services, such as genetic sequencing and genomic tumor analysis, which require higher-order expertise and skill.

Gov. Phil Murphy was thrilled to join Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski at a ribbon-cutting for Quest’s new headquarters in Secaucus on Thursday morning. Murphy said he hoped that other CEOs would look at Quest, a Fortune 500 company, choosing New Jersey and follow suit. “We have a newfound will, in addition to our natural assets, to use our advantages to their fullest potential,” he said. “I hope that somewhere, the CEO of another forward-looking, innovative company is listening to us and saying, ‘You know what, if New Jersey works for Quest, then I’ve got to look there, too.’” Murphy spoke of the density of the talent pool in the northern region of the state, proximity to New York City, view of the city and transportation in the area. Murphy also hinted at his upcoming economic development trips abroad.

Quest Diagnostics announced today it has acquired specialized anatomic pathology service firm PhenoPath. The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, continued a buying spree for Quest this week, which included the acquisitions of Oxford Immunotec's US lab business and fertility and fertility diagnostics services firm ReproSource. PhenoPath is based in Seattle and provides anatomic pathology, molecular oncology, and other services such as genetic sequencing and genomic tumor analysis. It will operate as part of AmeriPath, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, and Regional Medical Center Health System (RMC), a regional health care provider for a five-county service area in northeast Alabama, are teaming up to enhance the quality and value of diagnostic services to patients and their doctors through a new partnership agreement under which Quest will provide supply chain expertise, as well as perform laboratory reference testing.

Since Colorado legalized marijuana, the state has become a popular destination for so-called weed tourists. Johnny Welsh, a writer and bartender in Frisco, Colorado, a Rocky Mountain town near Vail, remembers when he would have the entire fall off work. "The restaurants closed, and you could travel the world," he told MoneyWatch, somewhat wistfully. Nationwide, the rate of workers testing positive for drugs has increased over the past decade, according to Quest Diagnostics, a major drug-testing laboratory. It has also risen in states that have made the drug legal. But the rate of increase has been about the same across the two categories, said Barry Sample, Quest's senior director for science and technology.

Quest Diagnostics today announced it has acquired fertility diagnostics service firm ReproSource for an undisclosed amount. Based Woburn, Massachusetts, ReproSource provides services such as ovarian health and recurrent pregnancy loss assessments, as well as implantation failure and semen quality. According to the company's website, it purchased the assets of "the largest fertility-focused laboratory in the United States" in 2008, and since then it improved and expanded its core services while establishing partnerships with laboratory, academic, and industry players in the US and globally.

If voters decide in November to legalize marijuana for recreational use, pot-smoking job seekers and employees beware. Legalization will not protect job applicants or employees who test positive for marijuana use on pre-employment drug tests or random workplace drug testing. Yes, you can still get fired or not be hired for a positive test. Unlike alcohol, where Breathalyzer tests can show the exact level in a person’s blood, there are few available tests that show the level of impairment for marijuana. Saliva swabs and urine samples only show if THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana, has been used over the last few days, said Dr. Barry Sample, of Quest Diagnostics, a New Jersey company that analyzes millions of workplace drug tests every year, not a person’s level of impairment at the time of a test. Tests of hair samples will show THC levels going back as long as 90 days.

There has been a trend a recent years for hospitals and health systems to sell their lab outreach businesses, often to one of the two largest commercial reference labs, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp, and then outsource their lab services to the same company. There is some early evidence that this trend may now be reversing.

There’s no argument that health care is changing: from service-based to value-based care, and from a supplier-centric to a patient-centric model. Both regulatory and patient pressures are pushing for better efficiency, better outcomes and simply better care. These pressures are moving the industry to be more open to the adoption of new technologies, tools and, in many cases, solutions that automate manual processes. These tools are powered by a specialized rocket fuel known as patient data. But in the rush to digitally capture and make the best use of patient data, two primary challenges have arisen. First, how do we break down the information silos that currently exist within our health care system? Secondly, while breaking the silos, how do we protect sensitive patient information as we share it across the health care ecosystem? There is also a large number of other tech-centric businesses and organizations that are currently utilizing blockchain to generate innovative solutions. Even large health care giants such as Humana and Quest Diagnostics have begun their own ventures into the world of blockchain.

As someone who has studied use and misuse of prescription opioids and other drugs for much of my career, I know drug misuse can happen to anyone. I have had friends, relatives and neighbors pulled into misuse, which includes substance-use disorders and other dangerous behaviors, such as drug combining. And I am not alone. A recently released statewide poll found that 1 of 3 adults in Texas knows someone who has been addicted to prescription painkillers. McClure is the director of medical affairs for Quest Diagnostics , the world’s leading provider of diagnostics information services, including in clinical drug monitoring.