Quest Diagnostics Launches COVID-19 Workforce Testing Services to Help Guide Organizations in Fostering Safer Workplaces as Employees Return to Work

COVID-19 molecular diagnostic and serology antibody testing at core of new suite of services

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May 27, 2020, 09:02 ET

SECAUCUS, N.J., May 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX), the world's leading provider of diagnostic information services, today launched a new suite of Return to Work services built around large-scale workforce COVID-19 testing. The services are designed to help organizations access and act on COVID-19 laboratory insights in order to foster safer workplace environments for their employees as the nation begins to restart the U.S. economy.

Quest Diagnostics, Chantilly, Virginia. (PRNewsfoto/Quest Diagnostics)

The Quest Diagnostics Return to Work services feature access to COVID-19 diagnostic and antibody testing and related capabilities, from event staffing to digital results reporting. For more information, visit www.QuestforHealth.com.

"All of us are eager to get back to work as safely as possible, and COVID-19 testing is essential to making this happen," said Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, CEO and President, Quest Diagnostics. "Quest has been at the forefront of COVID-19 testing, and our Return to Work solution is informed by this experience as well as our leadership in population health services for employers across the country. Given our relationships with thousands of employers, we feel Quest can make a major contribution with our Return to Work services. We will empower organizations of all sizes to use lab insights to help them foster safer and healthy environments as our nation plans to reopen our economy."

COVID-19 laboratory testing principally involves molecular diagnostics to detect viral RNA during active disease and serology testing to identify antibodies produced by the body following exposure to the virus. Both types of tests provide insights into disease risk for individuals and populations. Quest is committed to high quality COVID-19 testing and analysis and uses tests that have received FDA emergency use authorization as well as met the company's rigorous quality criteria.

Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of employee population health and workplace drug testing services, serving thousands of employers across the United States. The company's services range from lab and biometric screening to behavioral and mental health interventions to telemedicine and flu clinics.

To accommodate expected demand, Quest Diagnostics is scaling up its COVID-19 lab operations. The company expects to have capacity to perform approximately 150,000 molecular diagnostic tests a day by the end of June, compared to approximately 80,000 of these tests a day currently. The company also has capacity to perform approximately 200,000 antibody tests a day. Read more on our COVID-19 testing at: newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/COVIDTestingUpdates

Modular Approach Tailored to Different Workforces

"Employers of all kinds are trying to put programs in place to help protect their employees and customers as we return to work over the coming months. To be more effective, these programs will need to use high quality laboratory-based testing with software applications and analytics along with implementation of worksite safety programs," said Jay G. Wohlgemuth, M.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and head of Quest's Employer Population Health business. "Every workforce has different testing needs depending on the local environment, the type of work, the work environment and interactions with customers for the job category. Our Return to Work solution can be tailored to each organization's unique requirements."

Among the modular features of the new service suite are:

Event hosting that includes on-site temperature checks and respiratory and blood specimen collection by trained Quest Diagnostics staff. (Diagnostic testing is performed on respiratory specimens and antibody testing is performed on blood specimens.)
Access to a variety of specimen collection options, ranging from respiratory specimen collection for diagnostic testing to use of the company's 2,200 Patient Service Centers for blood draws for COVID-19 antibody testing.
IT solutions that include secure online questionnaires to help direct participants to the appropriate testing (diagnostic or antibody) based on factors such as symptoms and exposure to sick individuals and easy-to-understand results reporting.
Access to physician ordering, oversight and telemedicine services.
Data integrated with contact tracing and infection control software applications in use by employers.
Influenza vaccination services are also provided and will ultimately incorporate SARS CoV-2 vaccines, when available.

Quest Diagnostics is also implementing a prioritization strategy for employers with workforces critical to pandemic response.

"Some jobs are higher risk than others, and we plan to prioritize testing access for organizations that employ healthcare workers, first responders and others whose health and safety are critical to our nation's response to COVID-19," said Dr. Wohlgemuth.

About COVID-19 testing at Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is at the forefront of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, working to broaden access to laboratory insights to help us all lead healthier lives. We provide both molecular diagnostic and antibody serology tests to aid in the diagnosis of COVID-19 and immune response. Our COVID-19 test services are based on tests that have received FDA emergency use authorization and which also meet our high standards for quality. We are providing these test services under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act. We provide data on COVID-19 testing to various federal and state public health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and participate in studies with government and private institutions, aiding COVID-19 public health response and research. Through our team of dedicated phlebotomists, air fleet team, couriers and laboratory professionals, Quest Diagnostics works hard every day to help patients and communities across the United States access quality COVID-19 testing.   

The antibody tests and the molecular tests (together "All tests") have not been FDA cleared or approved; All tests have been authorized by FDA under EUAs for use by authorized laboratories; The antibody tests have been authorized only for the detection of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; The molecular tests have been authorized only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARSCoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and, All tests are only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.
For more information about the latest developments with our COVID-19 testing, visit: newsroom.questdiagnostics.com/COVIDTestingUpdates

About Quest Diagnostics Employer Population Health
Quest Diagnostics Employer Population Health is the leader in solutions that help improve outcomes and costs for employers. With nationwide lab access and insights from clinical data, Quest Diagnostics provides health screenings and related population health solutions, and utilizes screening insights to help identify chronic disease risks, connect employees to needed in-network care, and empower better health. For more information, visit www.QuestForHealth.com.

About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes. Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management. Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 47,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com

SOURCE Quest Diagnostics