Unboxing Logistics Everything To Know About Shipping Pharmaceuticals With John Golden From ParcelShield
In the words of John Golden, vice president of sales at ParcelShield, “Shipping medication is a risky business, but it's also critical to hundreds of millions of those that are depending on pharmacy services.”
In this episode of Unboxing Logistics, John and Lori discuss the risks pharmaceutical shipments face and how the right technology can protect healthcare businesses and patients alike.
Challenges and risks when shipping pharmaceuticals
ParcelShield’s motto? It’s not just a package, it’s a patient. Because medical supplies and prescription drugs make such a huge difference in people’s lives, pharmacies must carefully consider logistical risks when shipping them.
John says, “Many pharmaceuticals are time-sensitive. They're temperature-sensitive. They're highly regulated. … They're expensive. They're also life-sustaining. … There's risks out there like flight delays, extreme weather, traffic, or carrier dependability.”
The importance of proof of delivery
Proof of delivery is always useful for giving customers peace of mind, but when shipping expensive pharmaceuticals, it’s non-negotiable. John explains that if the government or a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) pays for a medication, they want to make sure the package arrives.
Without proof of delivery, “governments and PBMs [could] claw back the money that they paid you for those medications.”
Using technology to decrease risk
Technology helps ensure the safe, timely delivery of pharmaceutical shipments by predicting when and where packages could get delayed. According to John, these systems “leverage things like predictive analytics and machine learning … [to look] for advanced warnings.”
He goes on, “[The risk] could be wildfires. It could be hurricanes. It could be Mardi Gras. It could be the Super Bowl. But technology exists to be able to provide what we would call an early warning system to help to avoid shipping medications into a high-risk situation.”
Links
- Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnvgolden/
- Visit ParcelShield’s website: https://www.parcelshield.com/