Quest Diagnostics to Expand Reach with OhioHealth Laboratory Services Acquisition

Below is an official statement from OhioHealth on the transition of most of their outreach laboratory services to Quest Diagnostics:

“OhioHealth has made the decision to transition via acquisition select assets of its outreach laboratory services business to Quest Diagnostics, a leader in the laboratory space. We expect the acquisition to be completed later in the third quarter of this year.

While the majority of our outreach testing will be performed by the Quest Diagnostics full-service laboratory, a small amount of the outreach lab business will remain with OhioHealth. Surgical and oncology specimen testing with continue to be performed by OhioHealth laboratories for continuity of care purposes. 

Quest has extended offers of employment to most of the impacted OhioHealth associates. A small number of associates will remain with OhioHealth to support the portion of the business that will remain with OhioHealth. About a dozen associates had roles eliminated. 

At the close of the transaction, outreach testing services will be ordered from, performed by and billed by Quest.

•              Outreach includes all non-inpatient, non-outpatient lab testing.

•              Outpatient testing is defined as testing performed for a non-inpatient and is performed in conjunction with another medical procedure (e.g., coumadin clinic, pre-admission testing, etc., will stay with OhioHealth).

Laboratory Services are a key component within the continuum of care and OhioHealth will continue to have robust laboratories in our system.

This change has no effect on OhioHealth’s inpatient or outpatient laboratories. Additionally, OhioHealth will continue to perform laboratory testing for:

•              Anatomic pathology (includes surgical pathology, cytopathology, and flow cytometry)

•              Pap smears and associated viral testing

•              Electrophoresis

•              Oncology service line

While decisions like this are never easy, an organization like Quest has the size, infrastructure and capabilities to achieve economies of scale and drive competitive price points to achieve lower costs for our patients.

In alignment with our values, we are providing support to the associates impacted by this decision. We are working closely with Quest to ensure those associates have a smooth onboarding to their new roles. Associates whose positions are being displaced will receive individualized support to either find other opportunities within OhioHealth (including the possibility of re-skilling to be placed into other roles) or temporary salary and benefits continuation after their OhioHealth employment ends.”