CLDA Final Mile Fridays with Lauren King, CXT Software
For experienced final mile carriers, healthcare logistics can look like a natural opportunity for growth.
You already know how to manage time-sensitive deliveries. You have drivers, dispatchers, technology and operational processes in place. How different can delivering for a healthcare customer really be?
The difference is what’s at stake when something goes wrong.
A missed retail delivery may result in an unhappy customer and a redelivery. A missed medical delivery could delay medication, compromise a specimen or potentially affect a patient’s care.
That changes what healthcare organizations expect from their transportation partners.
On a recent episode of CLDA Final Mile Fridays, Lauren King of CXT Software joined us to discuss what it takes to build a healthcare-ready courier operation and why carriers shouldn’t look at compliance simply as another requirement to satisfy.
Here are some of the biggest takeaways.
Healthcare Logistics Is Different Because the Stakes Are Different
Healthcare customers aren’t simply hiring a company to move something from Point A to Point B.
They may be entrusting a carrier with medications, specimens, vaccines, medical devices, temperature-sensitive materials or other critical shipments.
If something goes wrong, the consequences can extend far beyond a service failure.
A patient could be waiting at home for medication that needs to be administered by a nurse. A specimen may need to reach a laboratory within a specific timeframe. A temperature excursion could compromise a shipment.
That responsibility changes the relationship between the healthcare organization and its courier.
King explained that healthcare organizations often view their transportation providers as an extension of their own brand and service commitment. They want confidence that the carrier representing them can consistently execute according to their standards.
In healthcare logistics, you’re not just delivering a package. You’re becoming part of the healthcare organization’s operation.
Healthcare Customers Are Looking for Predictability
Anyone who has responded to a healthcare RFP knows the questions can be extensive.
Chain of custody. Information security. Training. Documentation. Quality processes. Incident response. Driver qualifications. Insurance. Technology.
Why do healthcare organizations need to know so much about a transportation provider?
Because each of those areas can become a point where a logistics failure creates a larger regulatory, legal, financial or patient safety risk.
Ultimately, King said much of what healthcare organizations are trying to determine comes down to one thing: predictability.
Can they trust the carrier to follow the same processes on its worst day that it follows on its best?
No transportation operation is perfect. Traffic happens. Vehicles break down. Drivers make mistakes. Deliveries can be delayed.
Healthcare organizations know that.
What they want to understand is what happens next.
Do you have an escalation process? Is the customer notified? Is there a backup driver? Can you document what happened? Can your operation respond consistently when something doesn’t go according to plan?
The goal isn’t to convince a healthcare customer that nothing will ever go wrong. It’s to show them you’re prepared when something does.
Don’t Use Compliance as Defense. Use It as Offense.
One of King’s strongest pieces of advice for carriers was to change the way they think about compliance.
Too often, compliance is treated defensively.
Have the right policies so you can pass an audit. Maintain the required certifications. Avoid a finding. Check the boxes on the RFP.
King suggested carriers take a different approach:
“Don’t use compliance as defense. Use it as offense.”
Instead of waiting for a prospective customer to ask about your compliance program, make it part of your value proposition.
Show them how you qualify drivers. Explain how you protect chain of custody. Demonstrate how exceptions are documented and escalated. Show how your technology helps ensure that the right driver is assigned to the right delivery.
Having policies isn’t enough.
Healthcare customers increasingly want evidence that those policies are actually embedded in the operation.
Compliance shouldn’t simply help you keep healthcare business. Done well, it can help you win it.
Technology Can Turn Policies Into Controls
It’s easier than ever to create policies and procedures.
But having a document that says what should happen isn’t the same as having an operation that makes sure it happens.
That’s where technology becomes especially important.
Consider driver qualifications.
A driver who is qualified to deliver tires isn’t automatically qualified to transport every type of healthcare shipment. Depending on the work, a driver may need specific training, certifications or customer-required credentials.
Technology can help match those qualifications to individual jobs and prevent assignments from going to drivers who don’t meet the necessary requirements.
It can also create a system of record.
When a healthcare customer conducts an audit and asks for driver certifications, proof of delivery, chain-of-custody information or other documentation, the carrier should be able to retrieve that information quickly.
A policy establishes the standard. Technology can help enforce it and prove that it was followed.
Smaller Carriers Can Compete, But Preparation Matters
Healthcare logistics isn’t limited to the largest transportation companies.
Regional and smaller carriers can compete, but the time to prepare isn’t when a healthcare RFP suddenly lands in your inbox.
King encouraged carriers interested in the space to start doing the work now.
Learn the compliance requirements. Review your policies and procedures. Understand what training and certifications may be required. Talk with your insurance broker about the commodities you plan to transport. Evaluate whether your technology can support the necessary operational controls and documentation.
Insurance is particularly important because “medical logistics” covers a wide range of transportation.
Specimens, medications, medical devices, organs, radiopharmaceuticals and temperature-sensitive materials can each introduce different requirements and risks.
A carrier shouldn’t assume that having a transportation insurance policy means every type of healthcare shipment is automatically covered.
The more specialized the opportunity becomes, the more important it is to understand exactly what you’re agreeing to transport and what additional requirements may apply.
Prepare before the opportunity arrives so you’re ready when it does.
Use the Industry as a Resource
Carriers interested in healthcare logistics don’t have to figure everything out on their own.
King encouraged operators to talk with other carriers already working in the space, technology providers, insurance professionals and other industry resources.
The CLDA community can be especially valuable here.
A carrier in California, for example, may be able to call another CLDA member in Florida or New York who isn’t a direct competitor but has experience with the same type of healthcare delivery.
Ask what they’ve learned. What surprised them? What did healthcare customers require? What would they put in place differently if they were starting today?
Those conversations don’t replace your own research or professional guidance, but they can help you identify questions you may not have known to ask.
Don’t wait until you win healthcare business to start learning how healthcare logistics works.
The Future Is Moving From Documentation to Prevention
Healthcare logistics technology is also continuing to evolve.
Over the next several years, King expects healthcare organizations to want greater connectivity between systems and more real-time information from transportation partners.
Temperature-controlled transportation is one example.
Instead of discovering after a delivery that a shipment experienced a temperature excursion, connected sensors could provide real-time information showing that a shipment is trending toward an unacceptable temperature.
That gives the carrier an opportunity to act before the shipment is compromised.
The same idea could apply to proof of delivery.
Rather than discovering during an audit that a driver submitted an unusable photo, technology using computer vision could potentially recognize the problem when the photo is taken and ask the driver to capture another image.
The distinction is important.
The next generation of healthcare logistics technology won’t simply document what went wrong. It will increasingly help carriers prevent something from going wrong in the first place.
Build the Operation Before You Sell the Service
Healthcare logistics can be an attractive growth opportunity for final mile carriers, but entering the market requires more than adding “medical courier” to a capabilities sheet.
Healthcare organizations are looking for transportation partners they can trust with high-stakes deliveries.
That means carriers need the right processes, training, technology, insurance, documentation and contingency plans already in place.
Start learning before the RFP arrives. Talk to carriers already doing the work. Understand the requirements. Evaluate your technology. Review your insurance. Build the operational controls.
And when you’re ready to pursue the business, don’t hide all of that preparation behind the scenes.
Make it part of the reason the customer should choose you.
Don’t just tell healthcare customers you’re compliant. Show them why your operation can be trusted.
To learn more about CXT Software, please visit cxtsoftware.com.
Watch the Full Conversation
Watch the full CLDA Final Mile Fridays conversation with Lauren King of CXT Software for more on healthcare logistics, compliance, technology, driver qualifications, preparing for healthcare opportunities and what’s coming next for medical courier operations.
Watch full conversation on YouTube.
CLDA Final Mile Fridays brings together industry leaders and experts for practical conversations about the issues affecting final mile businesses. Follow CLDA for upcoming episodes and conversations designed to help move the final mile industry forward.
The information shared in this article and the accompanying Final Mile Fridays conversation is intended for general educational purposes and should not be considered legal or insurance advice. Companies should consult with their own insurance, legal and risk-management professionals regarding their specific operations.
