Quest Diagnostics 2012 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Our Strengths
We offer high value diagnostic information services and diagnostic solutions that are attractive to patients, physicians,
hospitals, health plans, IDNs, employers and others. Over the past several years, we have expanded our business in more
complex and faster-growing testing areas, including gene-based and esoteric testing. 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 strengthen our market offering, market position and reputation.
Our assets and capabilities. We are the world leader in the diagnostic information services business. We offer the
broadest test menu, with more than 3,000 tests, and are the leading provider in the United States of anatomic pathology, routine
and gene-based and esoteric testing services. We offer national access and have the most extensive network in the United
States. We operate a nationwide specimen collection network including over 2,100 of our own patient service centers and, in
addition, approximately 3,000 phlebotomists in physician offices. We also operate many additional locations globally where
thousands of contracted paramedical examiners coordinate the provision of paramedical examinations related to life insurance
applications. We have a medical and scientific staff available for consultation including over 800 M.D.s and Ph.D.s, primarily
located in the United States, many of whom are recognized leaders in their field. We serve approximately half of the physicians
and half of the hospitals in the United States. We have strong logistics capabilities, including courier vehicles and aircraft that
collectively make tens of thousands of stops daily.
Medical innovation. We are a leading innovator in diagnostic information services with outstanding medical and
technical expertise. We collaborate with leading academic centers and maintain relationships with advisors and consultants that
are leaders in key fields, such as cardiology, oncology, neurology 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 2012, our experts authored more than 100 publications that support
advancements and the latest thinking in laboratory testing and disease diagnosis.
We see significant opportunity to use diagnostic information services to personalize treatment options based on the
individual genetic profile of each patient. For example, we can offer an “end-to-end” array of services for companion
diagnostics. We have expertise dealing with biomarkers in clinical trials, have biomarker discovery capabilities, and can make
available laboratory developed tests, in vitro diagnostics (“IVD”) test kits and late-stage commercialization support for
companion diagnostics for new therapies that will foster personalized patient treatment. In 2012, the FDA granted our de novo
classification petition for our STRATIFY JCVTM Antibody ELISA testing service. It is the first blood test to be FDA market
authorized for the qualitative detection of antibodies to the polyomavirus JC virus for stratifying risk for progressive multifocal
leukoencephalopathy, an infrequent but serious brain infection, in patients with multiple sclerosis receiving TYSABRI®
(natalizumab), a therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. STRATIFY JCV,TM which was developed under an exclusive
collaboration for the United States market with the co-manufacturer of TYSABRI,® is to be performed only at Focus
Diagnostics.
We continue to introduce new tests, technology and services, including many with a focus on personalized and
targeted medicine. In addition, as an industry leader with the largest and broadest U.S. network and presence outside the
United States, we believe we are the distribution 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.
Leading healthcare information technology solutions. We provide interoperable technologies that help healthcare
organizations and physicians enter, share and access clinical information without costly IT implementation or significant
workflow disruption, including through our Care360®suite of products and our ChartMaxx® electronic document management
system for hospitals. These solutions offer access to a large national healthcare provider network using Quest Diagnostics'
Care360 connectivity products. The Care360 products, including Care360 Labs and Meds, enable physicians electronically to
order diagnostic testing and review test results from Quest Diagnostics and electronically to prescribe medications. Our
Care360 EHR product, which is certified as a complete electronic health record by the Certification Commission for Health
Information Technology, 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 by
providing more convenient ordering and reporting of diagnostic information services, greater convenience in electronically
prescribing medication and better access to clinical information.
We are a leader in providing patients with tools to manage their healthcare and medical information. Our automated
patient appointment scheduling enables patients to schedule appointments, including via mobile devices, at times that are