U.S. health systems and labs are losing millions of dollars and compromising care delivery due to avoidable last-mile logistics delivery errors, according to a study from global consulting firm L.E.K. Consulting and MedSpeed, an Illinois-based medical courier service provider.
Examples of those errors include mishandled lab specimens, compromised pharmaceuticals, and delayed surgical supplies. And because they occur in the healthcare sector, they can quickly lead to costly and severe consequences, researchers said.
“In health care, nearly every patient interaction depends on last-mile logistics,” Ilya Trakhtenberg, managing director, L.E.K., said in a release. “A single mishandled delivery can mean the difference between timely, effective care and a harmful delay. These errors can derail surgical procedures, compromise lab results, impact patient safety, and damage reputations.”
In additional results, the white paper, titled “The True Value of Last-Mile Logistics in Healthcare,” found that:
- $1 million is the average annual loss for midsized health systems due to mishandled specimens, such as lost biopsies, damaged blood samples, or improperly stored therapies.
- More than 50% of nurses reporting that medical courier errors delayed or canceled at least one procedure in the past year, with each event costing an average of $4,500.
- Errors with critical items such as temperature-controlled pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments, or sterile supplies can lead to patient safety risks, reputational harm, and legal exposure.
“As health systems and labs face an increasingly challenging environment, raising the bar for last-mile logistics is no longer optional,” Jake Crampton, chief executive officer of MedSpeed, said. “Reliable, high-performance logistics is not a ‘nice to have,’ it is a core requirement for delivering cost-effective, patient-centered care.”
