Quest Diagnostics 2008 Annual Report Download - page 15

scientific staff in the industry, with approximately 900 M.D.s and Ph.D.s, primarily located in the United States.
We are the leading provider of clinical testing, including gene-based and other esoteric testing, anatomic
pathology services, including dermatopathology and testing for drugs-of-abuse, and the leading provider of risk
assessment services for the life insurance industry. We are also a leading provider of testing for clinical trials.
Our diagnostics products business manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and specialized point-of-care
testing. We empower healthcare organizations and clinicians with robust information technology solutions. Our
activities are described below.
Patients are at the center of everything that we do. We are leveraging our diagnostic testing capabilities and
our assets to serve multiple customer bases. In 2008, our clinical testing business accounted for greater than 90%
of our net revenues, with the balance derived from insurer services, clinical trials testing, diagnostic products and
healthcare information technology. Most of our services are provided in the United States. Clinical testing
includes routine testing, anatomic pathology, gene-based and esoteric testing, and drugs-of-abuse testing, which
generated approximately 52%, 16%, 20% and 3%, respectively, of our 2008 net revenues. Risk assessment
services for the life insurance industry, clinical trials testing, diagnostic products and healthcare information
technology combined generated approximately 9% of our 2008 net revenues. In 2008, we derived approximately
3% of our net revenues from foreign operations and held approximately 7% of our long-lived assets outside the
United States.
Clinical Testing. We are the world’s largest commercial clinical testing company. We offer customers the
broadest access to the most extensive test menu of clinical and anatomic pathology tests in the United States.
Clinical testing is an essential element in the delivery of healthcare services. Physicians use clinical tests to assist
in the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring and treatment of diseases and other medical conditions. Clinical
testing is generally categorized as clinical laboratory testing and anatomic pathology services. Clinical laboratory
testing generally is performed on blood and body fluids, such as urine. Anatomic pathology services are
performed on tissues, such as biopsies, and other samples, such as human cells. Clinical tests which can be
performed by most clinical laboratories are considered routine. Esoteric tests are clinical tests that are not routine,
require highly skilled personnel and generally require more sophisticated equipment. Esoteric tests, including
gene-based tests, generally are performed in several of our laboratories. As testing methods become more
complex, we believe that providing sound medical and scientific consultation regarding tests and test results will
help spur the adoption of new tests, improve patient outcomes and enhance customer satisfaction. To this end, we
have in-house medical directors, scientific directors and genetic counselors available for consultation with our
customers.
Routine clinical testing. We are the leading provider of routine clinical testing, including testing for drugs-
of-abuse. We perform routine testing through our network of major laboratories and rapid response laboratories.
We also perform routine testing at the hospital laboratories we manage. Rapid response laboratories are smaller
facilities where we can quickly perform an abbreviated menu of routine tests for customers that require rapid
turnaround times. We also perform routine testing at hospital laboratories that we manage. We operate 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year, performing and reporting most routine tests within 24 hours. The majority of test results
are delivered electronically.
Routine tests measure various important bodily health parameters such as the functions of the kidney, heart,
liver, thyroid and other organs. Commonly ordered tests include:
•blood chemistries, including cholesterol levels;
•complete blood cell counts;
•urinalyses;
•pregnancy and other prenatal tests;
•routine microbiology testing;
•alcohol and other substance-abuse tests; and
•allergy tests such as the ImmunoCap威test.
Anatomic Pathology. We are the leading provider of cancer diagnostics, including anatomic pathology
services in the United States. Anatomic pathology involves the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases and
medical conditions through examination of tissue and cell samples taken from patients. We provide anatomic
pathology and other cancer diagnostics testing, including inpatient anatomic pathology and medical director
services at hospitals, throughout the country, including through our major laboratories. We have a substantial
presence in select areas and strong relationships with ordering physicians.
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