Pharmaceutical couriers – knowledge is the key

Posted on April 6, 2015

courier service

Finding reliable pharmaceutical couriers can be a bit of a challenge, since you need a company who is experienced and knowledgeable about all the different types of delivery requirements at each of the different facilities . When you hire someone to make these deliveries the couriers must know the logistics of the facility so that they can follow the proper regulations. Trained pharmacy couriers are in high demand because of the protocols that they must follow, making them much different than any other type of courier in the industry.

The first thing that a courier must learn when making pharmaceutical deliveries is how to deal with the various buildings that they will enter. For example, a pharmaceutical delivery could go to a group home where the courier needs to make sure that the individual signing for the medication is a representative of the home and not a resident. Another type of pharmacy delivery is to nursing homes. This gets somewhat tricky because in many cases, the people at the front desk will want this medication left with them to finalize the delivery. Your pharmaceutical couriers, however, cannot leave this medication with anyone else, as it must be delivered directly to a nurse for count verification.
The same can be said for an assisted living center or long-term care facilities. When pharmacy couriers deliver to these locations they must ensure that the medication reaches the patients room and in most cases must place the medication in a controlled area within that patient’s room. The more the courier knows about each type of facility and the regulations that must be followed, the easier this entire process becomes.

Finally, pharmacy couriers must be knowledgeable in HIPAA. HIPAA protects the privacy of the patient’s identifiable health information or PHI. This means that the courier must keep the health information that he or she has from ever leaving their control. If this information gets out against the patient’s will it could lead to a legal problems for the courier or the pharmacy, so pharmacy couriers must be careful to protect the information found in these pharmaceutical deliveries.

Overall, it makes sense for pharmacies to hire experienced pharmaceutical couriers to protect these deliveries because of their valuable content. The more a person knows about the rules and regulations involved with delivering medications, the better the service and the quicker the resolution when problems arise.