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Direct-to-patient services

Transition your supply chain
World Courier Direct-to-patient services

What are direct to patient logistics?

Direct-to-patient (DtP) logistics involve delivering medications and therapies directly to patients' homes, ensuring treatment is convenient and accessible. This system supports clinical trials and licensed products by including temperature-controlled transport, in-home storage, patient sample collection, and unused drug returns, enhancing overall patient access, care and trial participation.

Why consider direct-to-patient logistics?

At World Courier, we are committed to enhancing patient care through our direct-to-patient (DtP) services. Our comprehensive direct-to-patient logistics solutions ensure that patients receive their medications directly at home, offering unmatched convenience and eliminating the need for frequent hospital visits.

By leveraging our global network, we provide reliable and consistent direct-to-patient delivery across regions, ensuring that patients worldwide can access the treatments they need. With advanced temperature-controlled delivery, we maintain the integrity of sensitive medications from dispatch to door. Our approach broadens the patient pool for direct-to-patient clinical trials by making participation more accessible to individuals facing geographic or physical barriers, ultimately leading to enhanced recruitment and diverse study cohorts.

Key benefits of direct to patient logistics

Maintain drug integrity

With advanced temperature-controlled delivery solutions, we maintain the integrity of sensitive medications from dispatch to door, ensuring patients receive effective treatments every time.

End-to-end service

Our integrated supply chain system covers everything from medication dispatch to patient sample collection and unused drug returns (direct-from-patient solutions available in some locations). We offer a full spectrum service that simplifies patient care.

Legal compliance and patient safety worldwide

Our extensive experience with regulatory compliance ensures safe and lawful delivery of treatments across various regions through our licensed depot-to-patient services (in select locations).

As the industry’s partner of choice to enable at-home clinical trials and specialty direct-to-patient delivery programs, our reach covers:

2,101 
protocols (Jan '12 - Dec '23)
962
customers (Jan '12 — Dec '23)
93
countries

Crack the market

With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for greater patient diversity in clinical trials, and the need to include patients regardless of location, direct-to-patient shipments are pivotal. Dr Andrea Zobel dives into how DtP logistics enhance patient centricity, accelerate clinical trials, and ultimately bring drugs to market faster.

Discover how the industry addresses challenges related to data privacy and regulations in this insightful podcast. Listen now to learn more about achieving greater patient centricity through DtP shipments.
World Courier bring drugs to market faster

Win-win for both sponsor and patient

A decentralized trial (DCT) — or direct to patient clinical trial — is an alternative approach to clinical trials that sees patients treated remotely instead of on a clinical research site.

For trial sponsors and patients alike, this dynamic direct to patient approach can offer countless benefits, including convenience, more diverse patient pools, and enhanced trial data. Here are our five steps to keep your decentralized trial on track.
Direct to patient clinical trial is an alternative approach to clinical trials
World Courier's direct-to-patient services are designed to enhance the patient experience

A simply better service for happier patients

World Courier's direct-to-patient services are designed to enhance the patient experience

Our direct-to-patient services are designed to enhance the patient experience by delivering medications or investigative medical products (IMPs) directly to patients' homes. Direct to patient delivery offers unparalleled convenience, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits and allowing patients to maintain their daily routines.

Our direct-to-patient clinical trials logistics expand accessibility, enabling participation from individuals in remote or neglected areas. By minimizing travel burdens and offering direct to patient logistics solutions that enable personalized care through home-based drug administration, we prioritize patient safety and well-being, ultimately improving treatment adherence and overall quality of life.

World Courier's direct-to-patient services are designed to enhance the patient experience
World Courier delivers precision and professionalism through direct-to-patient services

Precision meets professionalism, delivered

World Courier delivers precision and professionalism through direct-to-patient services

Direct-to-patient projects are complex and require collaboration and planning. We pride ourselves on delivering precision and professionalism through our direct-to-patient (DtP) services. Our teams undergo training and adhere to global standard operating procedures (SOPs), ensuring consistency and excellence in every direct to patient delivery.

We coordinate activities with our customers and home healthcare professionals to ensure product integrity is maintained. Deliveries must often be precisely timed to coincide with the patient's availability or nurse home visits, requiring immediate proof that temperature control has been maintained prior to administering medication. Patient samples too are packaged for delivery to testing labs.

Furthermore, we are committed to upholding patient privacy by implementing stringent data protection measures that comply with both national and international regulations. Our dedication to maintaining the highest standards of service ensures that patients receive their therapies safely and securely, no matter where they are located.

World Courier delivers precision and professionalism through direct-to-patient services
World Courier works with trusted partners for better clinical trials

Partnering for better clinical trials

World Courier works with trusted partners for better clinical trials

The Medical Research Network (MRN) operates in over 40 countries. Their nurses extensive experience in Home Trial Support. They can give patients treatments through intravenous infusions, injections under the skin, and other medicines. They also do important tasks like taking blood samples, checking drug levels in the body, recording vital signs, giving ECGs, and watching for side effects. Learn more about World Courier and MRN's partnership.

Our partnership improves how we handle clinical trial supplies. We make sure products are transported, stored, and given out safely and reliably. This helps us recruit and keep more people in direct to patient clinical trials.

We don't have our own team of home healthcare professionals. Instead, we work with trusted partners who we recommend to clients looking for proven home healthcare services.

World Courier works with trusted partners for better clinical trials
Work with a professionally certified Customer Success Project Manager

Navigate direct to patient logistics complexities with a certified customer success project manager

Work with a professionally certified Customer Success Project Manager
Today's increasingly complex — and sometimes volatile — supply chains require a logistics partner who understands your specific needs and can help navigate complexities with care, from project set-up through the entire project lifecycle. Working with a professionally certified Customer Success Project Manager (CSPM), you will experience a best-in-class solution that ensures flawless delivery of direct to patient services.
Work with a professionally certified Customer Success Project Manager

Related insights

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Ready to transform your clinical trial?

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FAQ

The direct-to-patient (DtP) process involves delivering medications and clinical trial materials directly to patients' homes, ensuring they receive treatments conveniently. This approach includes temperature-controlled transport, in-home storage, patient sample collection, and return of unused drugs. DtP logistics enhance accessibility and participation in clinical trials, especially for those in remote areas. World Courier supports this process with specialized logistics solutions designed for seamless delivery and patient-centric care.

Direct-to-patient logistics vary globally, influenced by local legislation and location characteristics. Some countries, like the U.S., have clear guidelines for Direct to patient logistics, while others lack specific regulations or prohibit it altogether. Additionally, logistical challenges such as shelf life and poor infrastructure can impact feasibility in certain regions. Despite these challenges, World Courier's extensive network ensures broad access to direct to patient services worldwide.

World Courier securely manages patient data by adhering to global SOPs that include specific measures for handling confidential information. Additionally, dedicated resources with specialized training in customer service, operations, and transport ensure patient data is managed with utmost care to help prevent unauthorized access or breaches.

Direct to patient logistics offer superior temperature control compared to traditional methods, where patients may expose IMPs to unregulated temperatures. By delivering IMPs directly to patients' homes in qualified packaging, temperature control is maintained from site to storage. Deliveries are coordinated with patient schedules or nurse visits to ensure proper handling. For direct from patient models, samples are collected in temperature-controlled packaging to preserve their integrity.

Worker with mask

World Courier offers tried and tested packaging options for all temperature ranges.

Worker with mask