Quest Diagnostics has entered an agreement to acquire the outreach laboratory services business of healthcare system Mercy, the companies announced this week.
With the acquisition, Quest will pick up the business from 29 Mercy hospital labs and two independent clinic labs servicing patients and providers throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.
Testing formerly done by Mercy’s outreach business will be done at Quest’s laboratory in Lenexa, Kansas and a network of rapid response labs throughout the region.
“Mercy chose Quest to provide outreach lab testing because of its record of innovation and efficiency and our shared commitment to providing high-quality, convenient care that is accessible to all,” Lynn Britton, president and CEO of Mercy, said in a statement. “This relationship gives our patients and providers more convenient locations for sample collection and a significantly lower cost of testing while maintaining the same high quality patients and providers need.”
“As one of the country’s leading large health systems, Mercy is exiting the physician lab outreach business to sharpen its focus on providing high-quality, equitable care,” said Steve Rusckowski, Quest chairman, CEO and president. “We look forward to working closely with Mercy to support their lab strategy. As pressures from the pandemic ease, and customer expectations and reimbursement pressures rise, we are talking to more and more top health systems about how Quest can help them enhance the effectiveness of their lab strategies.”
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021. Financial and other terms were not disclosed.