New Clinical Lab Alliance in Denver Takes Aim at Quest

September 08, 2010

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Washington state-based Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories and Denver-based Centura Health, Colorado’s largest health system, have created a new for-profit clinical-pathology lab based in Denver.

According to Dark Daily today, the launch of the new Colorado Laboratory Services lab "will immediately make it a major competitor to Quest Diagnostics, which operates a major regional laboratory in Denver."

As part of CLS' services, in which Centura "will provide most of the laboratory testing," the new lab "will combine the … laboratory testing capabilities of the 13 Centura Health hospitals in Colorado with the esoteric testing capabilities and lab outreach support services offered by PAML."

It wasn't immediately clear when CLS will go live.

The Denver deal comes one week after PAML penned an alliance with Providence Health & Services' California branch to create a clinical lab to serve the San Fernando Valley region.

The so-called California Laboratory Associates will open its doors early next year and hopes to provide lab services throughout southern California. It will be based out of what was once Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, where routine tests will be performed, and from PAML's Spokane-based lab, which will be responsible for more "specialized testing," according to Washington G-2 Reports.

Around 90 percent of the tests performed by CLA will be performed in California.

The deal also calls for CLA to expand its test menu.

Providence Health & Services, which is a nonprofit, and PAML, which is for-profit and is considered one of the top 10 reference lab in the US, "have operated similar joint ventures in Washington, Idaho, and Utah. Providence owns a majority stake in PAML.

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