TETERBORO, N.J., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
(NYSE: DGX), the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information
and services, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of
MedPlus, Inc., which develops clinical integration products designed to
enhance patient care, as well as MedPlus' wholly-owned subsidiary Universal
Document Management Systems, Inc., which creates workflow solutions used by
many Fortune 500 companies to create increased efficiency and data access.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved at a meeting of
MedPlus shareholders on October 18, 2001, Quest Diagnostics acquired the
remaining 82% of voting shares of MedPlus stock not previously owned at $2 per
share in cash. MedPlus will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quest
Diagnostics under its current management.
"The acquisition creates enhanced technology capabilities for Quest
Diagnostics, which will provide our physician and hospital customers with
access to essential health care information at the critical point of decision
making," said Surya Mohapatra Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer for
Quest Diagnostics. "At the same time, Quest Diagnostics will support the
continued development and deployment of MedPlus' product offerings."
For several years Quest Diagnostics has recognized MedPlus' proven
expertise in developing technologies to automate, aggregate and manage
clinical and financial information. In 1999, Quest Diagnostics implemented
the MedPlus OptiMaxx(R) document archiving and scanning solution within
several of its laboratory facilities. "We've seen first hand the benefits of
these products," said Dr. Mohapatra.
MedPlus will expand and enhance Quest Diagnostics' connectivity solutions
to its customers. Quest Diagnostics currently offers Quest on Demand(TM) Test
Orders and Results On-Line connectivity products which provide physician and
hospital customers the convenience, efficiency and flexibility of placing
laboratory test orders electronically, and securely accessing their patients'
test results via the Internet. In the first quarter of 2002, Test Orders and
Results On-Line will be incorporated into the MedPlus eMaxx(TM) portal
product, enabling physicians and hospitals to aggregate lab data with other
clinical data in one patient-centric view.
The eMaxx portal will provide physicians with a single point of access to
clinical information originating from multiple health care organizations.
Physicians and their staffs will be able to access and store patient
information originating from hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and other
health care sources via the portal. In addition to sending and receiving lab
test results online, physicians will be able to refill prescriptions, verify
health care insurance eligibility, grant access to authorized specialists and
hospitals to view patients' medical records, improve transcription and
complete charts via the Internet.
Quest Diagnostics intends to accelerate the development and distribution
of the MedPlus ChartMaxx(TM), eMaxx, and OptiMaxx product lines for hospitals
and physician group customers. Quest Diagnostics will also support the
expansion, distribution and development of UDMS's Step2000(TM) workflow
product across multiple industry sectors including health care, which is in
desperate need of workflow solutions.
Richard A. Mahoney, President of MedPlus, Inc. commented: "This is a
banner day for our organization. The merger provides a strong financial
foundation for continuing our rapid growth in all product areas. Quest
Diagnostics has already opened key doors for broadening our hospital and
physician customer bases."
About the MedPlus Product Lines:
ChartMaxx(TM)
The MedPlus ChartMaxx system is an enterprise-wide electronic patient
record solution that brings all available patient information from disparate
systems into a single patient-centric file. The solution includes a suite of
sophisticated workflow applications specifically designed for the medical
records and patient accounting departments and assists customers in meeting
HIPAA requirements and enhancing patient safety.
eMaxx(TM)
eMaxx is a physician portal solution that aggregates patient-centric
information provided from hospitals, reference labs, other diagnostics centers
and physicians' offices into a single repository for physicians. eMaxx
streamlines access to the information and provides physicians with unsurpassed
clinical insights in a secure format that assists customers in complying with
the new HIPAA guidelines.
OptiMaxx(R)
OptiMaxx is a scaleable document management solution incorporating
computer output to laser disk (COLD) technology for document archiving and
retrieving.
About Universal Document Management Systems, Inc.
Step2000 is an object-oriented product that provides the ability to
quickly create and develop workflow solutions, which makes even the most
complex workflow and application development tasks simple. Step2000 features a
suite of integrated software components that guide the user through the
workflow building process.
About Quest Diagnostics
Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services with $3.4 billion in annual revenues. 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, 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, including gene-based testing, and is the
leader in routine medical testing, drugs of abuse testing, and
non-hospital-based anatomic pathology testing. Quest Diagnostics empowers
health care organizations and clinicians with state-of-the-art connectivity
solutions that improve practice management. 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.
The statements in this press release which are not historical facts or
information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to be
materially different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are listed in
the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated 2000 Form 10-K and subsequent filings.
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SOURCE Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
CONTACT: Investors - Cathy Doherty, +1-201-393-5030, or Media - Gary
Samuels, +1-201-393-5700, both of Quest Diagnostics/