HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.April 1, 1999--Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX), a
leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, and Home Access Health
Corporation, the leader in home telemedicine, have teamed up to assist hospitals in the
retrospective lookback of up to 500,000 people who may have received blood products that
later tested positive for the Hepatitis C virus.
The two companies today announced an agreement in which Quest Diagnostics is serving as
the exclusive sales agent for Home Access Healths Lookback Notification
Service (LNS) for Hepatitis C. "We are very pleased to have Quest as our
partner in this important public health initiative," said Richard A. Quattrocchi,
president of Home Access Health.
Under the terms of the agreement, Quest Diagnostics is exclusively representing the
"gold standard" lookback notification service to hospitals and blood transfusion
centers throughout the United States. "The ability to assist our customers meet this
requirement with such a patient-oriented, quality, turn-key program, provides an exciting
addition to our ever expanding hospital product offering," said David B. Willard,
vice president of hospital marketing for Quest Diagnostics. Financial terms of the
agreement were not disclosed.
Among the many hospitals that have already signed up for the service: Bellevue
Hospital, Lenox Hill Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, NY; Holy Cross
Hospital, Silver Springs, MD; Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune, NJ; Methodist
Hospital, Indianapolis, IN; Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA and
Medical City Dallas Hospital, Dallas, TX. A complete list of participating hospitals can
be found at the Home Access Health website: www.homeaccess.com.
Home Access Health developed its Lookback Notification Service in response to
guidelines issued last October by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
The guidelines mandate that by the end of March 1999, Blood Establishments must notify
transfusion centers of possible Hepatitis C positive blood donations from 1988 through
1992 and the transfusion centers, correspondingly, must make a "best effort" to
notify their patients who may have received tainted blood products. The notification must
include basic information about Hepatitis C virus, options for testing and treatment and
counseling access.
Together, Quest Diagnostics and Home Access Health have developed a turnkey,
cost-effective solution for many hospitals strapped for personnel and resources to satisfy
the federal lookback mandate.
The Lookback Notification Service includes:- Patient research- Patient &
Physician notification- Patient Counseling; 24/7 access- Testing Referrals- Compliance
Reporting
The cost of the service ranges from $80 to $100 per patient. Industry estimates of what
it would cost a hospital to conduct a similar lookback effort on their own range from $130
to $300 per patient.
Home Access Health currently markets the only doctor recommended at-home HIV counseling
and testing service approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Two
critical components of its telemedicine platform, professional counseling and a
proprietary patient tracking system, are both integrated into the Lookback Notification
Service. Also available to transfusion centers as part of "lookback" is a
nationwide referral database of physicians who treat Hepatitis C. This database was
created for the companys home telemedicine Hepatitis C counseling and testing
service, Hepatitis C Check(SM), which awaits regulatory approval from FDA.
Quest Diagnostics is one of the nations leading providers of diagnostic testing,
information and services to physicians, hospitals, managed care organizations, employers
and government agencies with 1998 revenues of $1.5 billion. The wide variety of tests
performed on human tissue and fluids help doctors and hospitals diagnose, treat and
monitor disease. Its Nichols Institute unit conducts research, specializes in esoteric
testing using genetic screening and other advanced technologies, performs clinical studies
testing and manufactures and distributes diagnostic test kits and instruments. Quest
Informatics collects and analyzes laboratory, pharmaceutical and other data to help large
healthcare customers identify and monitor patients who are at-risk for certain diseases.
Additional Company information can be found on the Internet at www.questdiagnostics.com.
Through its leadership position in telemedicine, Home Access Health is now leveraging
its platform to deliver additional solutions for major healthcare initiatives in the form
of new products, services, alliances and customers. A privately held company, Home Access
Health is developing partnerships with healthcare institutions including blood banks,
hospital transfusion centers, government agencies, voluntary health organizations,
pharmaceutical companies and managed care/employers who need specific telemedicine
solutions. More information about Home Access Health can be found on the Internet at www.homeaccess.com.