The driver's clipboard
Your driver loads the car with a box of bags and a printed sheet. The sheet has names, addresses and a column for signatures. Some patients sign, some are out, some have left a note on the door. A couple of addresses were not on the sheet at all because they were added after it was printed.
The driver comes back mid-afternoon. The sheet goes on the side. Two bags come back undelivered and go on the counter. Nobody writes down why. The next morning a patient rings to say their medicine never arrived, and you spend ten minutes trying to work out whether it was on yesterday's round.
Where the trail goes cold
The dispensary knows which bags are ready for delivery. The driver knows which were delivered. The two only meet on a piece of paper, twice a day. Anything that changes in between, such as an urgent addition, a patient who rings to say they will be out, or a bag that needs a fridge item added, depends on a phone call to the driver.
Failed deliveries are the weakest point. A bag that comes back is an exception, but there is no list of exceptions. It sits on the counter until someone notices it.
What loose delivery records cost you
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| No proof of delivery | Disputes are your word against the patient's |
| Failed drops not logged | Patients go without and ring the next day |
| Routes planned by memory | Drivers double back and rounds overrun |
| Late additions | Urgent bags miss the round or need a second trip |
| No history | You cannot see how many deliveries you do, or where |
If you are thinking about charging for delivery, or reviewing whether it pays, the lack of history makes that decision guesswork.
The delivery setup we build
- A delivery list filled at the dispensary: a bag scanned as ready for delivery is added with the patient's address from your records, any notes such as fridge item or controlled drug, and the round it belongs to.
- Route ordering using a mapping service, so each round is in a sensible order. The driver can still change it, they know the roads better than any map.
- A driver app on a phone showing the stops, with a tap to call the patient, a signature or photo on delivery, and a reason when a drop fails.
- Live status back at the pharmacy, so the counter can tell a caller whether their bag has been delivered or is still out.
- A returns list for failed drops, with the reason, so each one gets a follow-up call and a new slot.
- Records that sit where you can find them, searchable by patient and date, kept in line with your own policy on retention.
Anything with extra handling rules, such as controlled drugs, follows the procedures you already have. The app records what your SOP says to record, it does not decide the SOP.
Rounds with a record behind them
The driver leaves with the stops on their phone and comes back with every drop accounted for. When someone rings to ask where their delivery is, the answer is on screen. Failed drops are on a list with a reason, not sitting on the counter.
Over a few months you also build up a picture of your delivery work: how many drops per round, which areas take longest, which patients are often out. That helps with planning rounds and with any decision about the service.
Could this be your delivery service?
- Deliveries are planned on a printed sheet
- Undelivered bags come back without a reason written down
- Patients ring to ask whether their delivery is on the way
- You rely on phone calls to add urgent bags to a round
- You cannot easily prove a particular bag was delivered