Quest Diagnostics 2007 Annual Report Download - page 39

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tests that can be performed by physicians in their offices, (2) esoteric tests that can be performed by
hospitals in their own laboratories or (3) home testing that can be carried out without requiring the
services of clinical laboratories.
(o) Issuance of patents or other property rights to our competitors or others that could prevent, limit or
interfere with our ability to develop, perform or sell our tests or operate our business.
(p) Development of tests by our competitors or others which we may not be able to license, or usage of
our technology or similar technologies or our trade secrets by competitors, any of which could
negatively affect our competitive position.
(q) Regulatory delay or inability to commercialize newly licensed tests or technologies or to obtain
appropriate reimbursements for such tests.
(r) Inability to obtain or maintain adequate patent and other proprietary rights protections of our products
and services or to successfully enforce our proprietary rights.
(s) Impact of any national healthcare information network and the adoption of standards for health
information technology interoperability that are incompatible with existing software and hardware
infrastructure requiring widespread replacement of systems and/or software.
(t) Inability to promptly or properly bill for our services or to obtain appropriate payments for services that
we do bill.
(u) Changes in interest rates and changes in our credit ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s
Investor Services causing an unfavorable impact on our cost of and access to capital.
(v) Inability to hire and retain qualified personnel or the loss of the services of one or more of our key
senior management personnel.
(w) Terrorist and other criminal activities, hurricanes, earthquakes or other natural disasters, which could
affect our customers, transportation or systems, or our facilities, and for which insurance may not
adequately reimburse us.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
There are no unresolved SEC comments that require disclosure.
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