From cost center to value driver: Rethinking last-mile logistics

Every delay in healthcare carries a cost, sometimes measured in dollars and sometimes in patient outcomes. The way specimens, medications, and critical supplies move between hospitals, labs, and pharmacies can directly impact operational efficiency and care delivery. A strategic last-mile logistics partner can turn these movements into a competitive advantage by improving reliability, reducing waste, and supporting better patient care across your health system.

In a recent Becker’s Hospital Review article, Bill Santulli, Operating Partner at Water Street Healthcare Partners and board member of MedSpeed, highlights four key areas for health systems to consider when it comes to evaluating medical courier services:

• Smarter medical logistics models drive long-term value: Centralized operations, optimized routes, and integrated hub-and-spoke systems help reduce waste, increase asset utilization, and create scalable last-mile logistics infrastructure.
• Transparency for financial and operational control: Real-time visibility, healthcare-specific technology, and advanced analytics help identify hidden costs, optimize service levels, and continuously improve medical logistics performance.
• Quality as a driver of clinical and financial outcomes: Reliable, timely delivery of specimens, supplies, and equipment prevent delays, reduce errors, and protect both patient care and clinician productivity.
• Creating a connected healthcare logistics backbone for post-merger integration: Unified networks enable consolidated labs, centralized pharmacy services, and shared resources, helping health systems integrate operations faster and operate more efficiently.

Focusing on these areas helps healthcare organizations uncover inefficiencies, improve operational performance, and enhance patient care. Purpose-built healthcare logistics networks do more than move items. They create measurable value across the enterprise.

Read the full article to see why it’s time to reevaluate your medical courier strategy.

Bill Santulli is the former president of Advocate Health’s Midwest region, where he oversaw 26 hospitals and over 400 care sites. During his two decades with Advocate Health, Bill spearheaded initiatives that helped transform the organization into the third-largest non-profit integrated system in the United States.