Quest Diagnostics, a provider of diagnostic information services, announced it has acquired LifeLabs, a provider of laboratory diagnostic information and digital health connectivity systems, from benefit pension plan company OMERS in a deal valued at approximately CAN $1.35 billion (USD $1 billion).

LifeLabs will continue to operate under its own brand with the same management team at its Toronto headquarters. 

Secaucus, New Jersey-based Quest says it will supply LifeLabs with expertise, new ideas and means to strengthen its services.  

The two companies will also work together to improve online appointment scheduling and speed up patient service center processing. 

Quest will also support LifeLabs' data security enhancements while ensuring Canadian patients' health data remains in Canada. 

"Joining forces with Quest Diagnostics marks a pivotal moment for LifeLabs," Charles Brown, president and CEO of LifeLabs, said in a statement. "Quest's extensive diagnostic capabilities and forward-thinking strategy will help the LifeLabs team enhance access to services and ultimately improve healthcare for Canadians."

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Waltz Health, a digital search engine for prescription pricing and reimbursement, announced a partnership with Reliance Rx, a specialty pharmacy, to lower the cost of prescription specialty drugs. 

Reliance Rx will become part of Waltz Health’s Waltz Connect program as an in-network option for all specialty medications.

As a partner in Waltz Connect’s marketplace, health plans and self-funded plan participants needing specialty medications will have access to Reliance Rx’s services at a reduced cost.

"The Reliance Rx team is focused on providing patients and providers with the best specialty pharmacy experience," Timothy Carroll, vice president of business development and analytics at Reliance Rx, said in a statement. 

"Our novel approach layers on modern technology to bring transparency, efficiency and flexibility to specialty benefit management. For too long, the opaque and archaic structure of the traditional specialty drug supply chain has contributed to inefficiencies and misaligned incentives that have ballooned healthcare costs," Waltz Health cofounder and CEO Mark Thierer said in a statement 

"When you bring marketplace principles to healthcare, you unlock competition on price and differentiation on experience. That’s no different in specialty drugs, which is why we’re offering a comprehensive solution that can be tailored to each payer’s unique needs and includes an entire network of specialty pharmacy partners committed to delivery savings and improved healthcare outcomes."

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Marshall Health Network, a West Virginia-based academic health system, is joining forces with provider-facing healthcare-delivery platform Primefocus Health to provide a customized healthcare service solution to address regional healthcare issues, including rural care access, obesity, healthy aging and substance abuse.

Primefocus Health, which launched out of LG Electronics earlier this year, will help Marshall Health address the needs of 1.4 million residents in 40 counties in West Virginia, southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky.

The two companies will collaborate using technology and remote monitoring services to oversee patient progress for multiple medical conditions and deliver healthcare therapies to patients in their homes. 

The aim is to help healthcare providers successfully manage outcomes and provide assistance, counseling, communication and interventions via an app-based patient portal. 

The alliance will begin in September, with development plans throughout the next year and a patient rollout in 2025. 

"Working with Marshall Health Network enables us to be front and center in tackling key healthcare issues of West Virginia and rural Appalachia, as we build out solutions to best fit and serve people's needs and get them access to care that will help them live healthier and better lives," Darren Sabo, CEO of Primefocus Health, said in a statement.