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Medi-Ops Lab Logistics
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services, Hospitals

Laboratory Logistics in Medical Transportation

Have you ever thought about how laboratories transport the particular, delicate materials they work with? These substances have extraordinarily specific requirements and needs when it comes to transportation. What are those requirements? How exactly does transportation like that work? And how does Medi-Ops step in to support and exceed those needs and expectations?

What do Medical Laboratories Do?

These labs focus on performing tests on different specimens and samples and reporting results back to physicians, hospitals, and other medical care providers. These tests are typically conducted on patient samples to support or determine treatment and care plans. Medical care providers rely on these lab tests for diagnosis, making them an essential part of patient care. These tests have a huge impact on treatment plans and the next steps for patients and doctors alike.

Labs see all kinds of samples, as any kind of body fluids or tissues can be sent to a lab for processing and testing. With these samples, lab technicians are mainly analyzing proteins and enzymes to determine the functionality of organ systems, assess blood cells for bacterial or viral infections, look for causes of infections, or determine blood types and compatibility. Over seven billion clinical lab tests are performed each year, making this process and the success of medical labs that much more critical in the medical field.

Laboratory Needs and Requirements

Depending on the materials or samples being transported between hospitals, labs, or medical centers, different criteria must be met in order to ensure the highest levels of safety and efficient transportation.

  1. Temperature: Many samples have time or temperature requirements attached to their storage and transportation needs. Proper handling and transportation are critical in ensuring the viability of these products. Typically medical specimens such as blood work, body fluid samples, biopsies or infectious samples, and even organ and tissue shipments require storage and transportation in temperature-controlled environments. This is achieved through containers and vehicles in addition to close monitoring of products.
  2. Time: A time-sensitive medical transport can be required due to an urgent need for the product, specimen, or sample or because of the expiration date of the product being transported. There is always an expiration time on these products that needs to be strictly followed in order to maintain product integrity.
  3. Sterile Materials: Another common need in medical lab transportation is sterile instruments and equipment. Labs need sterile equipment for obvious reasons, and creating transportation options that don’t compromise the integrity of these products is essential for labs to conduct all of the testing and work required of them. 
  4. Hazardous Materials: Hazardous or radioactive materials can come up often in the medical world. Research facilities and labs can need transportation of biohazard materials which requires meticulous precision and attention to detail. These materials often have strict time and temperature requirements as well as specific legal needs in terms of containers and transportation processes. With no room for mistakes, compliant and effective transportation is of utmost importance when it comes to hazardous materials. 

Ground Transportation and Laboratory Transport

Any medical transport trip can potentially be a life-saving drive. The time-sensitive and climate-controlled delivery that comes with Medi-Ops transports ensures products are on-time and in perfect condition. With medical items, especially with the specific requirements of laboratory transports, ground transportation can be a great option. Emergency and non-emergency vehicles are available with options for lights and sirens transport if the product requires them. 

Products are always fully-insured and properly handled with incredible attention to detail. The ground-transportation units managed by Medi-Ops meet all standards and product requirements necessary. From time sensitivity and temperature requirements to hazardous materials, our vehicles are ready for the challenge of handling essential laboratory deliveries.

Air Transportation and Laboratory Transport

Air transportation is sometimes a better option when location or time needs require it. Air services create so many options including rotor and fixed-wing aircraft, commercial next flight out, and on-board courier services. Since these options can cover emergent and non-emergent situations, any laboratory transportation need can be covered anywhere in the United States.

Medi-Ops Software

Medi-Ops is the right answer for medical transportation not only because of our background-checked, HIPPA-compliant, and uniformed operators but also because of our uniquely tailored software. Real-time tracking and monitoring of your products are now available via our software and patient and client-first initiatives. Our software makes these deliveries unique and accessible all the while adding yet another level of care to the transportation process.

The medical laboratory needs often require various forms of transportation depending on the product and situation. These facilities are incredibly important in the medical world and patient care, so much so that the transportation of products between labs, research facilities, and medical care centers should be at the top of the priority list. Thankfully, Medi-Ops can cover all of the transportation needs of these facilities while maintaining the safety and integrity of products.

Medi-Ops Private Jet
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services, Flight Services

Private vs Commercial Aircraft in Medical Cargo Transportation

When medical cargo can’t be transported via ground transportation due to location or time factors, air transportation becomes a viable option to efficiently complete any non-emergent or emergent transport. Private and commercial aircraft are used in medical transportation and in many of the trips we coordinate here at Medi-Ops. As in every medical transportation situation, certain transportation methods are better than others depending on the situation, product, location, and other factors. While Medi-Ops conducts both ground and air transportation, sometimes a ground transportation option just won’t cut it in extremely time-sensitive and long-distance transports. Air transportation is a great option for moving cargo, whether on a commercial or private flight. With the decision to utilize air transport, there are some key differences between private charter aircraft and commercial aircraft to consider.

One of the biggest differences to take into account when evaluating whether to use charter or commercial aircraft is turnaround time. You’ve probably utilized commercial airlines for personal transportation. Depending on whether you are a two-hour early person when it comes to traveling on an airplane or if you get there with just enough time to get through security, time planning is important to consider. This is no different from cargo transportation operations on commercial aircraft. When utilizing this service, there are deadlines to consider. Cargo must arrive at the airport one hour before the flight and has a one-hour recovery time at the destination. Commercial aircraft operators also have cargo stations with fluctuating operation hours that can hinder transportation quality for time-sensitive cargo. 

Private aircraft charters are much more flexible with time constraints since they have access to smaller airports and can provide immediate recovery. Smaller airports allow for a faster pick-up, drop-off, and turnaround time. Sometimes there are products being transported that have extremely small shelf lives or specific, time-related travel needs. In these cases, using a private aircraft might be a better option to ensure the product’s quality and that it arrives at its destination in a timely manner. All in all, private aircraft charter flights are faster and can be more time-effective than commercial flights.

Looking at the numbers, there are around 12,039 private flights conducted per day. In addition the that sky-high (literally) number, there are 14,551 private airports around the United States compared to the 5,082 public airports. Looking at airports alone, the significantly higher number of private airports allows for an incredible number of options in location for transport and the ability to get products as close as possible to different locations. Turning to commercial flights, around 25,000 flights per day are operated by commercial airlines. This is a significant number of flight options, locations, and times. Clearly, commercial flight options can still be an incredible way to transport cargo and medical products if times, locations, and flights line up well.

So with all of this information, what kind of flight is best for each cargo transportation situation? When it comes down to it, time is the biggest factor here. If cargo is time-critical, like biotechnology products or emergency blood or organ transportation, a charter flight can save time and doesn’t require relying on commercial airlines. This is the highest level of reliability and security you can find in air transportation. Commercial airlines are still a valuable option to have when transports aren’t quite as time-sensitive. Medi-Ops’ next flight out (NFO) services as well as on-board courier services continue to ensure the safety of cargo throughout transport when utilizing commercial flights.

Biotechnology companies can now look to charter flights as a viable option for transportation since these products often require specific transportation procedures and have short shelf lives. The radiopharmaceutical industry is rapidly growing and often requires immediate transportation as these products have extremely specific transportation requirements in addition to specific time windows. Most often, these products aren’t allowed on commercial flights, creating a great opportunity to utilize charter flights instead. The extra level of efficiency, safety, and security provided by charter flights makes them perfect for these types of transport situations.

Medi-Ops has a large network of both commercial and private charter operators, providing an extensive web of flight options. Whatever the situation and cargo conditions, medical transportation has never been easier or faster than when utilizing our services. The specific routing technology provided through our software also allows clients to not only select the most appropriate form of transportation for their cargo but also track the product and see where it is and when it arrives in real-time. Our 24/7 dispatch center is also always available to guide clients through selecting the optimal mode of transportation for their cargo and scheduling those orders. Private and commercial flights have provided incredible strides in medical transportation. Those innovations and the security and reliability of Medi-Ops create industry-leading security and reliability for every transport.

Emergency vehicle tire tracks on snow
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services

Seven Benefits of Emergency Lights and Sirens Couriers in Winter Months

The winter brings abundant experiences, holidays, gatherings, and activities. The joy and cheer that winter hustles along with its holidays and events are always highlights of this season. While this time of year brings all of this goodness and cheer, the snow and unpredictable weather can bring a whole nother slew of winter experiences. Good or bad, winter weather affects our lives day to day. Another important piece of this to consider in the medical and transportation industry is how the increased unpredictability of weather can cause more frequent accidents and incidents as well as a higher need for medical product transportation. The winter is therefore also bringing in an increased importance of having relationships with emergency lights and sirens couriers to address every unpredictable situation most efficiently. 

Benefits of a Relationship with Emergency Lights and Sirens Couriers: 

  1. Time Efficiency: One benefit of utilizing emergency lights and sirens couriers throughout the year, but particularly in the winter, is the time saved. You know the drill, a lights and sirens vehicle has elevated abilities to transport blood, medical products, and patients in the most time-effective way. These vehicles can get through bad traffic quickly with their legal abilities to bypass certain traffic laws and restrictions when conditions allow. We’ve all seen lights and sirens vehicles navigate their way quickly through traffic jams, lights, and other tricky traffic situations. This ability allows for the highest level of timely transportation.
  1. Bypassing Road Closures: Many roads are closed in the winter due to weather, which can hinder the routes and accessibility of vehicle transportation. However, emergency lights and sirens vehicles can access these roads and safely navigate their way through winter weather closures, providing clients and emergency facilities with efficient and effective route transportation that other transport vehicles don’t necessarily have access to.
  1. Accident Navigation: An unfortunate reality of winter months is an increase in weather-related car accidents. At one point or another, everyone witnesses increased traffic, roadblocks, and slow travel times due to accidents. Emergency lights and siren vehicles can bypass these restrictions and breeze past accident scenes in order to get to their destination. Sometimes the product being transported by an emergency vehicle is for individuals involved in the same car accidents that they are able to quickly drive past. This reality allows for the transportation of products to arrive as soon as possible to better treat the patients in need of the blood or other medical products being transported.
  1. High Priority from Emergency Departments: The high priority status of emergency lights and sirens vehicles creates relationships with police departments and other emergency establishments. This recognition and priority level is yet another factor in why relationships between facilities, clients, and emergency lights and sirens couriers are essential throughout the year, but especially with the unpredictability and danger that winter transportation can bring.
  1. Increased Security: These vehicles bring with them their emergency lights and sirens status, road privileges, safety measures, and high levels of security. Couriers equipped with lights and sirens can safely monitor their vehicles and the product being transported. The increased level of security here provides peace of mind that the product being transported will arrive at its destination in optimal condition.
  1. Quicker Turnaround Time: Emergency lights and sirens couriers offer a quicker turnaround time than normal stat drivers as they are staffed 24/7. There is always a trained ad certified professional available to complete a transport call and ensure the efficiency and safety that comes with utilizing this service. Everyone knows that in the event of an emergency, time is of the essence. Shaving off even a few minutes of transportation time can save lives in the medical world. 
  1. Software (Medi-Ops Specific): The highly advanced software provided by Medi-Ops allows immediate tracking of orders and vehicles (in addition to the ability to place orders, receive immediate quotes, and bill directly from us). With these abilities, the consistent and quality service of Medi-Ops provides an added level of security and peace of mind that orders and transportation services will be on time and in good condition upon arrival. 

All in all, the utilization of emergency lights and sirens couriers will always be an essential relationship to have in winter months, if not year-round. At Medi-Ops, our fleet of vehicles in addition to our relationships with both ground and air couriers provides a level of service like no other. Don’t allow winter weather to hinder the efficiency, safety, and security of medical emergency procedures. Proper transportation is an absolutely essential piece of continuing to make innovative strides in the medical world and can save lives. Creating a relationship with emergency lights and sirens couriers is a vital part of the medical transportation process if you want to deliver the highest level of care to clients and patients alike.

Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services, Hospitals

The Importance of Medical Logistics

Medical logistics are a part of everyday life in the world of medicine. Why are they important? What do they do? Why do they matter? Are they worth investing in? Let’s answer these questions and more as we dive into the importance of medical logistics.

Medical Logistics Explained

You can’t look into medical logistics without also understanding supply chain management. The reason for supply chain management is organizing and linking networks in order to get products where they need to be in the most efficient and time-friendly manner possible. This involves costs, patient and establishment needs, transportation networks, shipping speeds, quality protection, and more. Not to mention the added logistics and considerations when hazardous materials, temperature sensitivity, insurance, and short-life products are involved. Logistics steps into those various components and processes of supply chain management. When all operations are moving smoothly from one end of the supply chain to the other, logistics is doing its job, lives are being saved, and operations are running at the best level possible. Clearly, a lot goes into reaching this point of optimal logistics and transportation.

Importance of Logistics

The two most valuable and measured things in the world are time and money. Medical logistics are important because they expound upon both time (through efficiency in moving materials and patients) and money (less time and increased efficiency in transportation mean lower costs). Because of this reality, having intentional logistics use in place creates safe, efficient, reliable, and timely transportation of products and patients. Being late in delivery or transportation in the healthcare and medical world is simply not an option. Creating a logistics plan that works and is sustainable for your business is essential to have in place. This can save money. Time. Lives. 

Benefits of Investment

Investing in logistics partners is essential in today’s world of medicine and healthcare. The transparency and communication that logistics partners like Medi-Ops can offer do wonder for logistics and efficiency. Visibility through live-tracking technology, expansive networks, and multiple transportation options for every situation is positively essential for medical organizations. 

There is a lot to think about in terms of logistics. Investing in a logistics partner takes care of the hassle and stress that comes with making sure every aspect of supply chain management and patient care is included in solution development and considerations. Extra costs can be reduced when one logistics partner is helping coordinate everything and using the best networks and solutions possible for everyday logistics as well as specific situations that may arise. 

Medicine is unpredictable. There are always unexpected events and situations that pop up where new logistic solutions are needed. Utilizing logistics partners help to manage those situations, develop the best solutions in a timely manner, and create forward-thinking and innovative transportation and medical solutions. Logistics partners are also constantly reevaluating supply chain needs, patient transportation options, and new ideas on how to create alternative solutions in this industry. Using their expertise and knowledge can, again, save time, money, and lives.

Medi-Ops as Your Logistics Solution

Medi-Ops is an incredible option to meet your medical logistics and transportation needs. We serve you by removing hassle and stress alongside infusing medical transportation with visibility and logistic transparency. When needing medical transportation and solutions, our dispatch center connects you to a curated operator based on medical, geographic, and financial needs. Anyone using Medi-Ops is walked through all necessary processes and services and will meet a team that brings consistent, quality service every time. In addition to the 24/7 dispatch center and revolutionary software, clients are able to place orders, view tracking information, receive immediate quotes, and bill directly from Medi-Ops. 

Medi-Ops is different from other logistics partners in that decreased transportation costs are available due to the company-owned fleet of ground vehicles, emergency, lights and sirens medical transportation, an extensive network of transportation solutions, and an organization that serves clients at the highest level. We have all the resources necessary to create solutions from medical emergencies in rural communities to daily NEMT transportation.

Logistics in courier services include ground and air transportation options. Orders are climate-controlled and delivered time-sensitively through HIPPA-compliant and background-checked operators. Any type of medical courier transportation is covered through ground service (emergency and non-emergency) as well as air courier (next flight out, on board, fixed wing, and rotor aircraft) options. Medi-Ops doesn’t stop at courier services and offers extensive patient transportation services through ambulance, air medical, and NEMT transportation.

The technological innovation of Medi-Ops sets it apart from other logistics and transportation providers. Through the client portal and technological services, tracking and transparency in every transportation service are present and available for clients. An extensive network with partners in transportation services expands options for clients, offering optimal solutions for every transportation and logistic need.

Logistics Wrapped Up

Medi-Ops is a great solution to logistics and medical transportation needs. Every business, hospital, or medical center in this industry requires exceptional logistics plans and options in order to be successful and operate at the best level possible. Every client of Medi-Ops can rest assured that they are receiving the optimal solutions in both product and patient transportation logistics. The innovation and constant assessment required to create the best network of logistics in medicine and healthcare can be overwhelming. That’s why logistics partners are absolutely essential in cultivating sustainable and top-of-the-line medical services.

Medi-Ops Rotor Aircraft Operator
Author Medi-Ops Team Categories Courier Services, Flight Services

Rural Communities & Medical Logistics

One of the best things about Colorado is the mountains and remote locations that the state offers. Mountain communities are secluded and peaceful, making them the perfect places to reside or escape for a weekend. The thing about these rural communities is that access to them can be difficult. This not only impacts the traveler, but also the community’s needs for emergency transport. What does emergency transport look like for these communities? How do they operate and what are the solutions to get these rural hospitals what they need?

Rural hospitals are the backbones of the communities that surround them. With all of the wonderful things these hospitals do, transportation can be a struggle due to factors with location and accessibility. Even with hospitals that involve more difficult access, the need for blood product, specimens, and medical equipment doesn’t decrease! These hospitals still require the same urgent transportation of medical products that any other medical facility would. All those mountain towns mentioned above? Think about the factors that could go into shipments and transportation operations – weather, terrain, distance, urgency, and the list goes on. These are real challenges that communities face, and no one wants to deal with those maddening logistics!

These challenging factors create situations where driving and road transportation might not be the fastest, safest, or most efficient option for medical and urgent transportation. These communities are also decently far from blood banks, distribution centers, and important facilities such as these. One option that stands out as a solution is utilizing commercial aircraft, charter rotor aircraft, or fixed-wing aircraft. These transportation options help to meet the urgent needs of rural communities. 

Once a community decides to explore the option of aircraft transportation, ground transportation is still utilized in order to pick these shipments up from distribution centers or blood banks, bring the product to the airport, and then have another transport pick the product up when it lands and deliver it to the final destination. Managing insurance, TSA qualifications, contracts, and other logistics are important in this process as well to create the safest optimal environment for the product being transported. 

Transportation challenges. Aircraft options. Ground transport logistics. This is still quite a list of things to manage when requiring urgent transport. Thankfully, logistics partners such as Medi-Ops can step into the process and help to manage this transportation network in order to meet the needs of and best serve these communities. With Medi-Ops, these various logistics are all taken care of in creating and executing the optimal transportation plan. Through utilizing relationships with commercial aircraft, shipments can be added to these flights that have excess baggage space through Next Flight Out services. Medi-Ops also has partnerships with rotor aircraft and fixed-wing, creating accessibility to all. Instead of a rural hospital having to set up transportation to pick up a medical shipment, bring it to the airport, coordinate a separate transport to pick it up from the receiving airport, and bring it to the hospital, on top of managing their insurance, various qualifications from the TSA, contracts, and other legal and safety logistics, the rural hospital could just set the trip up with Medi-Ops, who will work alongside them to pick the best methods of transportation for the hospital and their product.

In 2020, Medi-Ops partnered with Heli-Ops to continue providing the best transportation possible. Rotor aircraft are essential in reaching remote areas quickly, as they can land almost anywhere and move at high speeds. These aircraft do have a shorter range than fixed-wing aircraft, making the relationships with both types essential when determining optimal transportation in any situation.

The utilization of these alternate services in transportation, for example, a mountain hospital that is out of blood product, can get the product there in two hours instead of the eight hours that it would take between driving through winter roads, terrain, and other barriers. Medi-Ops has established relationships with rotor aircraft carriers in addition to commercial airlines that create the ideal transportation situations for these rural communities.

Medical transportation, especially to and from rural hospitals and medical facilities, can entail an incredible number of hard-to-sort logistics. Involving logistics partners like Medi-Ops will help to create transportation networks that are of the highest safety, efficiency, and quality. Time is of the essence in transportation situations and Medi-Ops is able to eliminate unnecessary pains in the logistics process, so hospitals can focus on their operations without having to worry as much about transportation and whether or not they are going to have a product on time.

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