Quest Diagnostics 2009 Annual Report Download - page 12

recognized leaders in their field. We serve approximately half of the physicians and half of the hospitals
in the United States. We also operate approximately 80 locations in the United States and Canada where
we coordinate the provision of paramedical examinations related to life insurance applications. We offer
the broadest test menu, with more than 3,000 tests, and are the leading provider in the United States of
gene-based and other esoteric testing. We have strong logistics capabilities, including approximately 3,500
courier vehicles and over 20 airplanes that together make approximately 90,000 stops daily. We have
approximately 8,400 phlebotomists and approximately 5,600 paramedical examiners. We plan to continue
to enhance our test menu and service capabilities. We believe that customers and payers prefer providers
that offer a comprehensive and innovative range of tests and services and the most convenient access to
those services and that, by offering such services, we will be able to profitably enhance our market
position.
•Continue to lead in medical innovation and information technology solutions. We are a leading innovator
in the clinical testing market with unmatched medical and technical expertise. We have the most
comprehensive test menu and leading medical and scientific experts available for consultation. We
collaborate with leading academic centers and maintain relationships with advisors and consultants that are
leaders in key fields, such as cardiology, oncology and infectious disease. In connection with our research
and development efforts, our medical and scientific experts publish in peer-reviewed journals research that
demonstrates the clinical value and importance of diagnostic testing. In 2009, we published several articles
that provide fundamental insights into the nature of cystic fibrosis and leukemia. Over the past several
years, we have expanded our business in more complex and faster-growing testing areas, including gene-
based and esoteric testing, anatomic pathology services and point-of-care testing.
We see significant opportunity to use diagnostics for personalized medicine, and our clinical trials business
has biomarker capabilities that advance our efforts to develop companion diagnostics for new therapies
that will foster personalized patient treatment. To us, personalized medicine is getting the right test to the
right patient at the right time, and includes the manner of testing. For example, different tests may make
sample collection methods less invasive or more convenient to a patient.
We remain a leading innovator in the clinical testing industry by continuing to introduce new tests,
technology and services, including in personalized and targeted medicine. For example, in 2009, we
introduced the first commercial test for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus that received an Emergency Use
Authorization from the FDA for the expected duration of the H1N1 emergency. We received the
Emergency Use Authorization approximately 12 weeks after the U.S. government declared infection by the
H1N1 virus a pandemic emergency. Our H1N1 test is a good example of our strength in rapidly
developing and deploying innovative diagnostics to improve patient care. In addition, as an industry leader
with the largest and broadest U.S. network and expanding presence outside the United States, we believe
we are the channel of choice for developers of new tests to introduce their products to the marketplace.
Through our relationships with the academic medical community and pharmaceutical and biotechnology
firms, we believe that we are a leader in bringing technical innovation to the market.
We empower healthcare organizations and clinicians with information technology solutions that can help
improve patient care and medical practice, including through our Care360suite of products and our
ChartMaxxelectronic document management system for hospitals. We provide technologies that help
health information exchanges and physicians enter, share, and access clinical information without costly IT
implementation or significant workflow disruption. These solutions offer access to a large national
healthcare provider network, including hundreds of electronic health record (EHR) applications and
approximately 160,000 networked physicians using Quest Diagnostics’ Care360 connectivity products. The
Care360 products, including our Care360 Labs and Meds, enable physicians electronically to order
diagnostic tests and review test results from Quest Diagnostics and electronically to prescribe medication.
Our Care360 EHR product allows physicians to generate a complete record of a clinical patient encounter,
automates and streamlines the clinician’s workflow, and allows for rapid deployment and implementation
with minimal workflow disruption. We believe that these products enhance the value we provide to our
customers and result in increased customer loyalty. In addition, our Centergy威Clinical Portal and Data
Exchange Services are the choice of one third of the original Nationwide Health Information Network
contractors and some of the nation’s largest health information exchanges, including in California, New
York, British Columbia, District of Columbia and New Mexico.
The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included laws designed to expedite the
implementation of electronic health records and build a national electronic health infrastructure in the
United States. We have been pioneering advancements in healthcare information technology for many
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