Medical Specimen Courier Service

Medical specimen courier services provide time-sensitive transportation of blood samples, lab specimens, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals between hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and pharmacies.

With healthcare requiring reliable specimen transport and labs processing 14+ billion tests annually, medical couriers generate revenue of $150,000-$420,000 annually with profit margins of 30-45% through per-delivery fees and route contracts.

The business requires reliable vehicles (cargo vans preferred), HIPAA and OSHA training, specialized containers for specimens (coolers, biohazard bags), GPS tracking, and often certification in hazmat transportation.

Services include scheduled route pickups from clinics and doctor offices, STAT (immediate) pickups for urgent specimens, delivery to reference labs, pharmaceutical delivery, and proper chain of custody documentation.

Typical pricing ranges from $15-$45 per pickup/delivery for routine service to $75-$150+ for STAT deliveries.

Success factors include absolute reliability (lab results depend on timely delivery), proper specimen handling to prevent rejection, HIPAA compliance, and strong relationships with healthcare facilities and labs.

Most couriers operate defined routes serving multiple locations plus on-demand STAT service.

Temperature control and proper packaging is critical to prevent specimen rejection.

Marketing focuses on building relationships with physician practices, laboratories, and hospital networks, emphasizing reliability and compliance.

With lab testing increasing and healthcare networks requiring coordination between facilities in 2025, medical courier services offer stable opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to provide reliable, compliant healthcare logistics.