Shipping Pharmaceuticals Takes Careful Preparation

Every Chicago delivery service takes pride in what they do. As couriers, they want to make sure that packages arrive on time in their intended condition. This is true for all shipments, including those involving pharmaceuticals. Regardless if it is whole blood, lab work, or prescription medicine, they take extra special care to make sure that it makes it there safely. In order to accomplish this, they must make sure to properly prepare them for shipment.

The first thing a Chicago delivery service will take into account when packaging pharmaceuticals is federal regulations. The FDA and DEA place strict requirements on not only what type of pharmaceuticals can be shipped, but how they must be shipped. One of the main requirements is that a package containing a pharmaceutical cannot have any label, marking, or other written notice identifying that package as containing a pharmaceutical. This is why it is good to contact your courier service and purchase packaging supplies directly from them. They will have the specific type boxes that will conform to the shipping requirements.

OSHA is another agency that places strict requirements on shipments. If a courier service is transporting pharmaceuticals, such as whole blood, it must be done in packaging that will contain the blood if it leaks from its original container. While this seems like a strict requirement, packaging materials such as Styrofoam and plastic bags are often used to accomplish this goal.

The type of packing used inside the package is also important. If a courier is transporting blood work to a lab, they must make sure that the blood work stays suspended and at a temperature where the blood does not become contaminated. If not, the lab work will be useless when delivered which will cause problems for the lab, the patient, and the doctor's office where the blood was drawn.

Certain types of pharmaceuticals require inspection upon their arrival. As such, couriers will pack trucks to accommodate for easy inspection. Often, they will be shipped on a dedicated truck so that the recipient does not have to wade through dozens of other packages and the delivery can be accomplished in less time.

Finally, if the item being transported must remain at a certain temperature, make sure that the package can maintain this temperature. Sometimes using too much packing material can actually insulate the pharmaceutical and not allow it to get to its designated temperature.

All in all, pharmaceuticals require special packaging that a trained courier service can handle for you.