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DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	3 Months Ended
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	Mar. 31, 2012
Description of Business (Abstract)
DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS	DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS Background Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its subsidiaries ("Quest Diagnostics" or the "Company") is the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, providing insights that enable patients and physicians to make better healthcare decisions. Quest Diagnostics offers patients and physicians the broadest access to diagnostic laboratory services through the Company's nationwide network of laboratories and patient service centers. The Company provides interpretive consultation through the largest medical and scientific staff in the industry, with hundreds of M.D.s and Ph.D.s, primarily located in the United States. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of clinical testing, including gene-based and esoteric testing, and anatomic pathology services, and the leading provider of risk assessment services for the life insurance industry in North America. The Company is also a leading provider of testing for clinical trials and testing for drugs-of-abuse. The Company's diagnostics products business manufactures and markets diagnostic test kits and specialized point-of-care testing. Quest Diagnostics empowers healthcare organizations and clinicians with robust information technology solutions.