The results are in: last-mile logistics impacts lab effectiveness

By Jake Crampton, MedSpeed CEO

It’s clear that timely and accurate lab testing is crucial to healthcare. In fact, according to the American Clinical Laboratory Association, lab testing informs approximately 70 percent of medical decisions, from diagnosis to treatment planning.

Since our inception 25 years ago, MedSpeed has supported laboratories, so we understand the vital role logistics plays in setting the table for effective patient care. Delays or errors in testing can lead to misdiagnoses, inappropriate treatments and increased patient risk, not to mention driving up healthcare costs.

A new survey conducted by CAP Today, the publication of the College of American Pathologists, looks at the impact logistics has on laboratories. 99 percent of the 318 lab professional respondents said that medical couriers impact their work in a “typical week,” with 81 percent of those working in acute care labs indicating that impact as “significant.”

Of lab respondents surveyed:

• 84 percent said that in the last month a medical courier delay or error impacted their ability to provide appropriate and timely results for patients, with an average of three such incidents per month reported per respondent.
• 56 percent of lab directors, managers and supervisors indicated that a courier error compromised an irreplaceable specimen in the last year, with an average of two such incidents reported per respondent.
• 83 percent of lab directors, managers and supervisors said courier reliability affects their decision to partner with specialty labs or complementary labs for send out and referral testing.

The findings of this 2025 survey, detailed in this infographic, corroborate the responses to a similar survey of lab professionals in 2023. In addition to the two CAP Today surveys, results from a 2024 survey conducted by American Nurse Journal bolster the importance of dependable logistics. That survey found that for 83 percent of nurses, medical courier issues negatively impact their work weekly, with 52 percent of nurses indicating that a medical courier error or delay forced them to reschedule or cancel a procedure in the past year.

Collectively, these surveys demonstrate how important it is to select the right logistics partner. With error rates as low as 1/20^th of the industry average, MedSpeed delivers more than just lab specimens—we deliver trust, savings, and better patient outcomes.