AdvancePCS and Quest Diagnostics Announce Laboratory Services Agreement; Companies Offer Enhanced Access to Clinical Laboratory Services.Health & Medical Writers IRVING, Texas Irving (pronounced 'er-ving') is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 191,615; the 2006 estimate was 201,927 according to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, and 196,084 according to & TETERBORO, N.J.--(BW HealthWire)--Aug. 13, 2001 AdvancePCS (Nasdaq: ADVP), the nation's leading health improvement company, and Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX) is a United States corporation which provides clinical laboratory services . The company also has a business presence in England and Mexico. Quest Diagnostics is a member of the Fortune 500 and the S&P 500. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : DGX DGX Dogfishes (FAO fish species code) ), the leading provider of diagnostic testing Diagnostic testing Testing performed to determine if someone is affected with a particular disease. Mentioned in: Von Willebrand Disease , information and services, Monday announced they have entered into an agreement to offer an improved clinical laboratory benefit program to AdvancePCS clients and their members nationwide. With AdvancePCS' Performance Lab(TM) program, members present their pharmacy benefit card to obtain outpatient laboratory tests through their physician's office or at more than 1,300 conveniently located Quest Diagnostics patient service centers, where specimens are collected. Test results are forwarded directly to their physician. AdvancePCS processes laboratory claims, bills and collects payment from payers, and remits payments to Quest Diagnostics. "We are very pleased to have the leading diagnostic testing provider join our effort to improve the health of Americans through our Performance Lab program," said Andrew Garling, M.D., AdvancePCS senior vice president, clinical operations. "Quest Diagnostics' commitment to Six Sigma Not to be confused with Sigma 6. Six Sigma is a set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve processes by eliminating defects.[1] A defect is defined as nonconformity of a product or service to its specifications. Quality and its broad national reach will facilitate our member penetration in the Performance Lab program. The resulting partnership will allow for the gathering of information that will greatly enhance the health improvement services we provide to our clients." Quest Diagnostics processes more than 100 million test orders annually for people who depend on the service for accurate, timely results that influence the decisions of approximately 360,000 physicians. "We are very pleased to partner with AdvancePCS," said Paul Rust, vice president, corporate health and wellness for Quest Diagnostics. "We expect this relationship will offer AdvancePCS members easier and broader access to lab services through the country's most extensive network of patient service centers." While the agreement will offer greater convenience, enhanced quality and more comprehensive laboratory testing capabilities, AdvancePCS' Performance Lab program will continue to function operationally in the same manner as the company's previous program. Members will receive services without the need for claims paperwork, and without co-payments, deductibles and co-insurance. About Quest Diagnostics Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, with annual revenues of more than $3.4 billion in 2000. The company's diagnostic testing yields information that enables health care professionals and consumers to make better decisions to improve health. Quest Diagnostics offers patients and physicians the broadest access to diagnostic testing services through its national network of approximately 30 full-service laboratories full-service laboratory Lab medicine A lab with ≥ 3 of the following areas: chemistry, hematology, microbiology, blood banking, anatomic pathology–surgical pathology and/or cytopathology. See Specialized laboratory. , 150 rapid response laboratories and more than 1,300 patient service centers, where specimens are collected. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of esoteric testing esoteric test Lab medicine The analysis of 'rare' substances or molecules that are not performed in a routine clinical lab. See DORA. , including gene-based testing, and is the leader in routine medical testing, drugs-of-abuse testing, and non-hospital-based anatomic pathology testing. Through partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and information technology companies, Quest Diagnostics provides support to help speed the development of health care insights and new therapeutics. Additional company information can be found on the Internet at: http://www.questdiagnostics.com. About AdvancePCS AdvancePCS (www.advancepcsrx.com) is the nation's largest independent provider of health improvement services, touching the lives of more than 75 million health plan members and managing more than $21 billion annually in prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, spending. The company offers health plans a wide range of health improvement products and services designed to improve the quality of care delivered to health plan members. The company's capabilities include integrated mail service and retail pharmacy networks, innovative clinical services, customized disease management programs, specialty pharmacy, clinical trials and outcomes research, information management, and prescription drug services for the uninsured. AdvancePCS clients include Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Shield A US not-for-profit health care insurer that is a reimbursement intermediary for physicians. Cf Blue Cross. organizations, insurance companies and HMOs, Fortune 500 employers, Taft-Hartley groups, state and local governments, and other health plan sponsors. AdvancePCS is an information technology leader and has developed several online e-health solutions, including www.AdvanceRx.com, one of the country's most comprehensive Internet pharmacies internet pharmacy Online A website that offers prescription drugs from the comfort of home Cons The IP or prescribing physician may not be qualified or licensed to prescribe drugs in all states. See Operation Cure-All, VIPPS. . The company's e-health portal, www.BuildingBetterHealth.com, helps people stay healthy by providing valuable information on health and wellness. Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. Any statements included in this press release that are not historical facts and that concern predictions of economic performance and management's plans and objectives constitute forward-looking statements under the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in AdvancePCS' Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
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