Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Risk Factor Changes

(w) Terrorist and other criminal activities, hurricanes, earthquakes or other natural disasters, geopolitical hostilities or other global conflicts, public health emergencies and pandemics, which could affect our cust…

(p) Challenges, including the associated competitive pressures, with properly managing the development, implementation, oversight and use of AI.

(k) Inability to identify, consummate or achieve expected benefits from our acquisitions of other businesses.

(h) Failure to efficiently integrate acquired businesses, integrate our business with our joint ventures, and to manage the costs related to any such integration and implementation requirements, or to retain key techn…

(c) Uncertain and volatile economic conditions, including the impact of an inflationary environment and changes in government policies, including related to trade.

•failure to maintain the quality or timeliness of services and profitability that our Company has historically provided;

Acquisitions are not all the same (e.g., asset acquisitions differ from acquisitions of equity interests); different acquisitions offer different risks and require different levels of effort to obtain regulatory clear…

the availability of appropriate opportunities and competition from other companies seeking similar opportunities.

In addition, we believe that our overall relations with our employees are good.

Although the Company has implemented robust security measures, which are monitored and routinely tested both by internal resources and external parties, cybersecurity threats and attacks against us continue to evolve…

External actors may develop and deploy viruses, other malicious software programs, ransomware attacks, distributed denial of service attacks or other attempts to harm or obtain unauthorized access to our systems, incl…

We regularly assess opportunities and risks related to corporate responsibility, which includes sustainability, social and governance matters.

If we do not use or adequately safeguard that information in compliance with applicable requirements under federal, state and international laws, or if it were disclosed to persons or entities that should not have acc…

In our business, we collect, generate, process or maintain sensitive information, such as patient data and other personal information.

It is important that we continue to strengthen our efficiency, including through the use of technology and automation, to promote our competitive position and enable us to mitigate the impact on our profitability of s…

Our international operations (including in Canada) increase our exposure to risks inherent in doing business in non-U.S.

The FDA has regulatory responsibility over, among other areas, instruments, software, test systems, collection kits, reagents and other devices used by clinical laboratories to perform diagnostic testing in the United…

The political environment impacting healthcare regulation in the United States continues to be uncertain.

Other steps taken to reduce utilization and reimbursement include requirements to obtain diagnosis codes (which can be inconsistent between health plans and government payers) to obtain payment, increased documentatio…

The healthcare industry has experienced a trend of consolidation among health insurance plans, resulting in fewer but larger insurance plans with significant bargaining power to negotiate fee arrangements with us and…

Pursuant to PAMA, reimbursement rates for many clinical laboratory tests provided under Medicare were reduced during 2018 - 2020.

(dd) Any future public health emergency or pandemic.

If we are unable successfully to integrate strategic acquisitions in a timely manner, our business and our growth strategies could be negatively affected.

We plan selectively to enhance our business from time to time through business development activities, such as acquisitions, licensing arrangements, investments and alliances.

The FDA's regulation of clinical laboratory testing is expected to impact industry practices and participants, new competitors may enter the industry, and competition may come in new forms.

operating results.

payment and requiring preauthorization of certain testing.

From time to time, the federal government has considered whether competitive bidding could be used to provide clinical testing services for Medicare beneficiaries while maintaining quality and access to care.

We also believe that health plans and consumers increasingly are focusing on driving better value in laboratory testing services.

If we are unable successfully to integrate strategic acquisitions in a timely manner, our business and our growth strategies could be negatively affected.

•regulatory delay or failure to develop, acquire licenses for, introduce, or commercialize newly-acquired tests, technology and services;

We plan selectively to enhance our business from time to time through business development activities, such as acquisitions, licensing arrangements, investments and alliances, including joint ventures.

service, generate insights from lab and other data and stimulate innovation to improve operational efficiency, including the expanded use of AI, may further expose our IT systems to the risk of cyberattacks and may cr…

Our international operations also require us to devote management resources to implement our controls and systems in new markets, and to comply with the U.S.

threatened by the U.S.

In May 2024, the FDA announced it was phasing out its general enforcement discretion approach so that LDTs manufactured by a laboratory would generally fall under the same enforcement approach as medical devices.

•the laws and regulations administered by foreign governments where we conduct clinical trials and operate outside of the United States;

limiting the allowable number of tests or ordering frequency, expanded prior authorization programs and otherwise increasing payment denials.

In addition, the diagnostic information services industry is faced with potential changes in government regulations that could impact patient access to healthcare.