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Facing a COVID-19 data mess on Tuesday, Florida severed ties with national lab giant Quest Diagnostics, slamming the company for a previously unreported backlog of 75,000 test results from as early as April. “To drop this much unusable and stale data is irresponsible, and Quest has abdicated their ability to perform a testing function in Florida,” the state Department of Health wrote on Twitter. The state also called the backlog a data issue that “does not impact the health of individuals or the spread of COVID-19 in Florida.” Quest issued a public apology, noting there was a technical issue with...

The clinical laboratory company said in a release that an "unauthorized user" gained access to a system used by American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing vendor hired by a Quest contractor called Optum360. Quest said the information that may have been exposed included Social Security numbers and medical information, but not test results. AMCA first notified Quest on May 14 of "potential unauthorized activity" on its payment page, Quest said. Two weeks later, according to Quest, AMCA then told Quest and Optum360 more about the breach, including the number of patients potentially affected and what information was accessed. Quest...

CBS4 has learned that Quest Diagnostics, the nation’s largest diagnostic lab company, has told doctors, hospitals and health care providers nationwide the company will not accept blood samples suspected of being infected with Ebola; and will not knowingly allow any patients suspected of having Ebola into Quest offices. In a message sent Oct. 11 to hospitals and doctors, Quest Diagnostics said, “Patients with known or suspected Ebola hemorrhagic fever should not be referred to Quest Patient Service Centers or Quest In-Office Phlebotomists for specimen collections of any type.” CBS4 contacted Wendy Horst, a Quest spokesperson. She said, “We have informed...