Case Study
A national specialty pharmacy needed a logistics partner it could rely on for high-quality, same-day final mile deliveries across its broad footprint. While other providers balked, USPack, a leading final mile carrier with decades of healthcare experience, said, “We’ve got you covered!”
USPack’s implementation team leveraged a group of carefully vetted drivers and data-driven technology to deliver critical medications to patients within 50 miles of their locations on the same day. Now, the pharmacy and its patients enjoy peace of mind with faster and end-to-end tracked deliveries.
“To protect their business and offer patients quality same-day deliveries, the pharmacy needed a knowledgeable, process-driven logistics provider”
The average cost of infusion pharmaceuticals is very expensive, with some treatments costing upwards of $50,000. With both extremely precious pharmaceuticals and the health of sick patients on the line, on-time delivery and accuracy are essential.
Our specialty pharmacy customer needed to first rethink its final mile delivery process. The pharmacy caters to patients battling rare diseases and chronic illnesses who request same-day delivery. The pharmacy had been relying on a combination of national next-day delivery service providers and mom-and-pop couriers, but their deliveries either took too long or were plagued by service issues.
In fact, it wasn’t uncommon that the pharmacy staff, untrained in delivery processes and best practices, would make same-day deliveries with their own vehicles, exposing the pharmacy to potential accident liability costs and diverting time better spent filling prescriptions and helping customers.
What’s more, the pharmacy lacked the technology to obtain proof of delivery for insurance and compliance audits quickly. Failing audits could mean forfeiture of revenue from a delivery, putting the pharmacy’s growth and financial safety at significant risk. To protect their business and offer patients quality same-day deliveries, the pharmacy needed a knowledgeable, process-driven logistics provider that could consistently meet same-day expectations and provide technology for real-time order tracking, proof of delivery information, and robust data analytics.
From day one of our partnership, USPack assigned the specialty pharmacy a dedicated account manager to oversee their logistics operations and serve as a single point of contact for the pharmacy’s regional director.
Together with our corporate governance and implementation teams, our account manager instituted a same-day delivery plan within two weeks (instead of the typical 30 days) across 12 locations in predominantly rural areas to ensure patients got the benefits of same-day delivery, just like their metropolitan counterparts.
USPack’s comprehensive independently-contracted driver onboarding process included:
At program launch, a USPack operations team member was onsite at each location to handle backend operations and educate staff on our proprietary ADDI platform. Pharmacy staff were encouraged to enter new patient data into USPack’s system and confirm delivery ETAs and accuracy at any time.
To give pharmacists time to fill prescriptions, drivers pick up orders from pharmacy locations twice each day, at 10 AM and 2 PM, and follow analytics-optimized routes. STAT orders are entered into the ADDI portal and prioritized accordingly. And where some providers lack backup drivers should a driver become unavailable, USPack can provide immediate backups, ensuring pharmacy staff never has to make same-day deliveries using their own vehicles.
Drivers scan and take a picture of each parcel upon delivery as a part of USPack’s best practices for healthcare compliance. The information is automatically uploaded to the secure ADDI portal along with a GPS timestamp, so the pharmacy can verify delivery in real time. USPack’s ADDI technology also helps the pharmacy preserve revenue by providing a tangible proof-of-delivery audit trail, thereby minimizing non-compliance claw backs.
Additionally, with our uniform pricing structure across all locations, the pharmacy enjoys billing simplicity and transparency. Whether a location receives support in the form of an on-site coordinator who sorts orders by delivery area or a remote operations manager, each site is assured of a knowledgeable, dedicated professional staff.
Furthermore, the specialty pharmacy has access to USPack’s dedicated call center, manned by dispatchers trained in the healthcare sector’s unique needs, thereby gaining the advantages of quicker response and better communications.
The specialty pharmacy was impressed by USPack’s speed, capabilities, and commitment to our mutually beneficial partnership. Finally, they could offer the high-quality same-day service patients wanted but that other final mile providers couldn’t ensure. Even more, with proof-of-delivery data for audits and driver accident liabilities eliminated, the pharmacy avoids potential lost revenue and fees.
Since seeing such strong results, the pharmacy is exploring rolling out USPack’s same-day delivery solution to even more locations to propel its growth. That’s the power of experienced healthcare logistics from a USPack partnership.
Get in touch with USPack Healthcare to learn more about how we can help your organization save money, reduce delivery times, provide patients with unparalleled service, and support better outcomes.
