CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 145,439	$ 164,886
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $249,513 and $237,339 at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively	973,888	906,455
Inventories	88,262	89,132
Deferred income taxes	171,815	153,328
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	139,200	87,459
Total current assets	1,518,604	1,401,260
Property, plant and equipment, net	781,427	799,771
Goodwill	5,835,075	5,795,765
Intangible assets, net	1,041,513	1,035,612
Other assets	274,825	280,971
Total assets	9,451,444	9,313,379
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	971,092	906,764
Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	554,356	654,395
Total current liabilities	1,525,448	1,561,159
Long-term debt	3,365,257	3,370,522
Other liabilities	664,682	666,699
Quest Diagnostics stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 600,000 shares authorized at both March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011; 215,059 shares and 214,607 shares issued at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively	2,151	2,146
Additional paid-in capital	2,347,152	2,347,518
Retained earnings	4,395,647	4,263,599
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)	10,560	(8,067)
Treasury stock, at cost; 56,541 shares and 57,187 shares at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively	(2,886,217)	(2,912,324)
Total Quest Diagnostics stockholders' equity	3,869,293	3,692,872
Noncontrolling interests	26,764	22,127
Total stockholders' equity	3,896,057	3,714,999
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 9,451,444	$ 9,313,379