EXHIBIT 7


            QUEST DIAGNOSTICS COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF MEDPLUS, INC.

             -- Expands Availability of Electronic Medical Records
                         for Physicians and Hospitals --

Teterboro, N.J., November 1, 2001--Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE: DGX),
the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services,
announced today that it has completed the acquisition of MedPlus, Inc., which
develops clinical integration products designed to enhance patient care, as well
as MedPlus' wholly-owned subsidiary Universal Document Management Systems, Inc.,
which creates workflow solutions used by many Fortune 500 companies to create
increased efficiency and data access.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved at a meeting of MedPlus
shareholders on October 18, 2001, Quest Diagnostics acquired the remaining 82%
of voting shares of MedPlus stock not previously owned at $2 per share in cash.
MedPlus will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics under its
current management.

"The acquisition creates enhanced technology capabilities for Quest Diagnostics,
which will provide our physician and hospital customers with access to essential
health care information at the critical point of decision making," said Surya
Mohapatra Ph.D., President and Chief Operating Officer for Quest Diagnostics.
"At the same time, Quest Diagnostics will support the continued development and
deployment of MedPlus' product offerings."

For several years Quest Diagnostics has recognized MedPlus' proven expertise in
developing technologies to automate, aggregate and manage clinical and financial
information. In 1999, Quest Diagnostics implemented the MedPlus OptiMaxx(R)
document archiving and scanning solution within several of its laboratory
facilities. "We've seen first hand the benefits of these products," said Dr.
Mohapatra.

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MedPlus will expand and enhance Quest Diagnostics' connectivity solutions to its
customers. Quest Diagnostics currently offers Quest on Demand TM Test Orders
and Results On-Line connectivity products which provide physician and hospital
customers the convenience, efficiency and flexibility of placing laboratory test
orders electronically, and securely accessing their patients' test results via
the Internet. In the first quarter of 2002, Test Orders and Results On-Line will
be incorporated into the MedPlus eMaxxTM portal product, enabling physicians and
hospitals to aggregate lab data with other clinical data in one patient-centric
view.

The eMaxx portal will provide physicians with a single point of access to
clinical information originating from multiple health care organizations.
Physicians and their staffs will be able to access and store patient information
originating from hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and other health care
sources via the portal. In addition to sending and receiving lab test results
online, physicians will be able to refill prescriptions, verify health care
insurance eligibility, grant access to authorized specialists and hospitals to
view patients' medical records, improve transcription and complete charts via
the Internet.

Quest Diagnostics intends to accelerate the development and distribution of the
MedPlus ChartMaxxTM, eMaxx, and OptiMaxx product lines for hospitals and
physician group customers. Quest Diagnostics will also support the expansion,
distribution and development of UDMS's Step2000TM workflow product across
multiple industry sectors including health care, which is in desperate need of
workflow solutions.

Richard A. Mahoney, President of MedPlus, Inc. commented: "This is a banner day
for our organization. The merger provides a strong financial foundation for
continuing our rapid growth in all product areas. Quest Diagnostics has already
opened key doors for broadening our hospital and physician customer bases."

About the MedPlus Product Lines:

ChartMaxxTM

The MedPlus ChartMaxx system is an enterprise-wide electronic patient record
solution that brings all available patient information from disparate systems
into a single patient-centric file. The solution includes a suite of
sophisticated workflow applications specifically designed for the medical
records and patient accounting departments and assists customers in meeting
HIPAA requirements and enhancing patient safety.

eMaxxTM

eMaxx is a physician portal solution that aggregates patient-centric information
provided from hospitals, reference labs, other diagnostics centers and
physicians' offices into a single repository for physicians. eMaxx streamlines
access to the information and provides physicians with unsurpassed clinical
insights in a secure format that assists customers in complying with the new
HIPAA guidelines.

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OptiMaxx(R)

OptiMaxx is a scaleable document management solution incorporating computer
output to laser disk (COLD) technology for document archiving and retrieving.

About Universal Document Management Systems, Inc.

Step2000 is an object-oriented product that provides the ability to quickly
create and develop workflow solutions, which makes even the most complex
workflow and application development tasks simple. Step2000 features a suite of
integrated software components that guide the user through the workflow building
process.

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics is the nation's leading provider of diagnostic testing,
information and services with $3.4 billion in annual revenues. The company's
diagnostic testing yields information that enables health care professionals and
consumers to make better decisions to improve health. Quest Diagnostics offers
patients and physicians the broadest access to diagnostic testing services
through its national network of approximately 30 full-service laboratories, 150
rapid response laboratories and more than 1,300 patient service centers, where
specimens are collected. Quest Diagnostics is the leading provider of esoteric
testing, including gene-based testing, and is the leader in routine medical
testing, drugs of abuse testing, and non-hospital-based anatomic pathology
testing. Quest Diagnostics empowers health care organizations and clinicians
with state-of-the-art connectivity solutions that improve practice management.
Through partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology and information
technology companies, Quest Diagnostics provides support to help speed the
development of health care insights and new therapeutics. Additional company
information can be found on the Internet at: http://www.questdiagnostics.com.

The statements in this press release which are not historical facts or
information may be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to be materially
different. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are listed in the Quest
Diagnostics Incorporated 2000 Form 10-K and subsequent filings.


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