Online retail sales have evolved from an oddity to the norm over the last decade. As with other sectors, it has also transformed the healthcare industry. According to the US Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), home health spending will rise from $103 billion to $173 billion by 2026. This will mark a 78 % increase in spending in less than a decade. The increase in home health spending signals an excellent investment opportunity for medical organizations. However, it comes with a unique set of challenges concerning last-mile medical delivery.
Therefore, as organizations compete to enhance efficiency, cut costs, and increase market share, there have been some notable advancements in the area.
Read on to learn how last-mile courier shipping in the medical sector is evolving and how you can capitalize on it.
The Challenges of Last Mile Medical Deliveries
Before delving into the change in last-mile medical delivery, it’s first important to understand the challenges. To begin with, it’s vital to appreciate that in addition to the general last-mile delivery challenges, the medical sector has some unique ones.
This is largely due to the time sensitivity of the deliveries, the nature of products, and potential risks. In simple terms, a delayed or failed delivery has greater ramifications for all parties. So, it comes with a lot of pressure.
- Special Handling – Many pharmaceutical products require special handling and specific conditions such as low temperatures to be maintained throughout. If not, they will spoil or become ineffective.
- Additional Skill Requirements – Beyond driving, medical sector delivery drivers require additional skills. These include monitoring temperature and setting up and installing medical devices such as oxygen tanks and dialysis machines.
- On-Demand Deliveries – Emergencies in the medical sector are a common occurrence and must be addressed swiftly as they’re often life or death cases. However, adjusting to them when you already have a full schedule is not easy.
- Driver Continuity – Many healthcare facilities and clients request that only one driver handles all their deliveries. While this adds to the level of customer trust and satisfaction, it makes it difficult to plan last-mile deliveries.
How Last Mile Medical Delivery is Evolving
While the pressure of last-mile medical deliveries is high, getting it right is very rewarding. This means that products are handled well throughout the delivery, and they arrive on time. To do this, you need to have full control of the supply chain, including minute details.
While it may sound impossible, you can leverage advanced technological solutions to enjoy greater visibility and control over last-mile deliveries. Such solutions offer:
1. Last Mile Visibility
As mentioned, medical deliveries are unique as some products require a unique set of conditions to be maintained throughout. Ordinarily, it’s not easy to ascertain whether these conditions were maintained.
However, with advanced tools, you can enjoy last-mile visibility. This allows courier companies and medical practitioners to monitor conditions in real-time. In doing so, decision-making is significantly enhanced, thus improving outcomes.
2. Automated Route Optimization
If deliveries are scheduled long before the delivery date, fulfilling them is easy. However, that’s not always the case. In addition to the scheduled ones, there are also on-demand deliveries. These, in fairness, can be a nightmare to deal with.
First, you need to find a way to fit them into an already tight schedule. But that’s the easy part. You’ll also need to match the delivery with the best-suited driver in relation to their hours of service (HOS), location, and other factors.
As you do this, you may be forced to adjust other deliveries. An automation tool that offers route optimization can help with this. They account for all variables, including the type of vehicle needed and cold storage requirements, and create a delivery schedule instantly.
But beyond matching appropriate drivers with deliveries, they also choose the most efficient routes. This means drivers will be assigned deliveries with the minimum possible distance, thus reducing delivery times and fuel costs.
3. Digital Proof of Delivery
Medical supplies and equipment are highly sensitive. And some of them can be used for harmful purposes if they’re in the wrong hands. Therefore, the last thing you want is uncertainty about their whereabouts.
Was the consignment delivered or not? This is a question that should never come up.
Automated platforms for managing medical deliveries can help with this. They have a feature that allows the driver to capture proof of delivery digitally. On the other hand, customers can give instant feedback.
4. Delivery Notifications
A key part of your job is ensuring medical deliveries are done on time, and the products arrive in peak condition. However, you can achieve this but fail in the overall objective of providing medical care.
While medical supplies are in transit during emergency deliveries, there are people on the other side waiting for them. These include the patient and caregivers. The duration they have to wait for the delivery often influences their decision-making and preparation.
This is one of the simple yet invaluable features of a digital medical delivery solution. It provides delivery notifications informing patients and caregivers of the progress. Doing this significantly enhances their decision-making and capacity to plan.
5. Deep Insights
Using an automated solution to optimize last-mile medical deliveries helps you achieve greater efficiency. Moreover, it gives you flexibility and visibility over the supply chain. But that’s not all.
It also collects key data on your delivery processes that would otherwise be invisible. By analyzing this data, you’ll gain crucial insights into how you can further optimize the process. This may be by resolving bottlenecks or making further improvements.
Eliminate the Hassle of Last Mile Medical Deliveries
As a health service provider, the growth of in-health services and medical deliveries presents a huge opportunity. Along with increasing revenues, it also allows you to increase access to the necessary medical equipment and services to consumers. But, it does not have to be a painstaking process.MediOps is a technology-enabled medical logistics and transportation company. We have proprietary software that simplifies medical supply management while increasing visibility. Get in touch with us today for reliable last-mile medical courier services.