Quest Diagnostics 1999 Annual Report Download - page 10

DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION
Laboratory testing will always be an important part of what we do. Historically, once the results were
reported, our work was complete. But customers are now finding tremendous value in the data that can
be derived from the testing we perform. We transform raw data into valuable information products by
combing through many millions of test results to identify patterns and trends. Our informatics capability
helps physicians and other health care providers identify people at risk for certain diseases, such as
diabetes, and speed treatment to them. Disease managers at managed care companies use our data to
assess the quality of care received by their members. Pharmaceutical companies also recognize the power
of our data. For example, last year Quest Diagnostics obtained sponsorship from Parke-Davis for a project
in which we sent important medical information to New York area physicians. This very beneficial program
informed physicians about their patients’ cholesterol levels and communicated the clinical benefits of
therapy recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Just as consumers have taken responsibility for their finances, they are increasingly starting to manage
their own health in new ways. They are turning to the Internet for relevant information — the kind we can
provide. We recently became the first major commercial laboratory to announce the availability of secure,
personalized lab testing information over the Internet, via Caresoft, Inc.’s web site: www.thedailyapple.com.
Doctors are also becoming web-enabled, and we are working to provide them everything from electronic
test request forms to secure test results and relevant updates on clinical developments via the Internet.
We recently began offering physicians the ability to use the Internet not only to order lab tests and check
test results from our database, but also to access patients’ medical charts from hospitals and clinics.
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER
The Internet is only one of the ways we will be able to reach consumers directly. We already serve an
average of 100,000 consumers each business day through our network of 1,400 conveniently located
Patient Service Centers. Another way we interact with consumers is through our involvement in health fairs,
like the one we co-sponsor with Denver’s NBC-TV affiliate. At last year’s 9Healthfair, where we tested more
than 60,000 people, 200 people discovered that they had been infected by the hepatitis C virus — one of
the fastest-growing public health risks — thanks to free hepatitis C testing which we performed, underwritten
by Schering-Plough Corporation.
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“We have the potential to become
an information powerhouse.
Our database of test results
and our informatics capabilities
are enormously valuable to
patients, providers, payers and
pharmaceutical companies,
all working to improve
the quality of health care.
4,000,000,000
test results in Quest Diagnostics’
database
26,000,000
people visited Quest Diagnostics
Patient Service Centers in ’99
4
percent of health care spending
devoted to lab testing
70
percent of health care spending
impacted by test results
”
Vijay Aggarwal on the power of information
Jerry Marrone on Internet health information
“Consumers are using the Internet to learn about their health.
We are committed to making lab results and information
about testing available on-line in a strictly confidential and
secure manner.”