Quest to Buy Pack Health, a Patient Engagement Firm

Quest Diagnostics entered an agreement to acquire patient engagement firm Pack Health in an all-cash equity deal. Pack Health’s solutions help people adopt healthier behaviors to improve outcomes. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
The company specializes in addressing chronic conditions and comorbidities influenced by mental health, lifestyle, access to care, and social determinants of health (SDOH). Pack Health employs certified health coaches educated on 30 chronic conditions who interact with individuals via a virtual engagement platform with personalized content. Service include medication adherence coaching, diet and exercise coaching, and community resource outreach.
 
“By adding the Pack Health platform to our Extended Care services, Quest will strengthen our ability to connect diagnostic insights to actions that generate greater value, outcomes and quality, empowering affordable care,” Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, CEO and president of Quest told the press. “This transaction also builds on our growing expertise in addressing social determinants of health, such as through our Quest for Health Equity initiative, and other programs that help organizations deliver value-based care.”
 
This buy build on Quest’s 2018 acquisition of MedXM (now Quest HealthConnect), which provides in-person, home-based risk assessment and monitoring services to supplement clinical care.
 
According to CDC, about 90 percent of U.S. annual healthcare spending is on chronic and mental health conditions. Many of these can be delayed or prevented if caught and treated early, and SDOH can influence early disease detection and management. In August 2020, Quest launched Quest for Health Equity, an initiative to address and reduce health disparities in underserved communities as well.
 
Quest and Pack Health expect to complete the transaction in the first quarter of this year.