# Medical courier software that keeps custody on the specimen from the draw chair to the lab bench > A medical courier is a driver who moves diagnostic specimens, blood products and pharmacy items between draw sites, clinics, hospitals and laboratories under a chain of custody. Most of that freight is a Category B infectious substance, and 49 CFR 173.199 requires triple packaging with absorbent material, an outer surface no smaller than 100 mm by 100 mm, and a package that survives a drop from 1.2 meters without the primary receptacle leaking. Neurobird holds the route, the temperature reading and the custody signature on one manifest. - URL: https://neurobird.com/medicalcourier/ - Product: Neurobird Medical Courier Dispatch Platform - Niche: medical courier - Buyer: medical courier companies - Status: in development, open for early access - Updated: 2026-08-22 ## What Neurobird Medical Courier does - Build the run from standing stops and drop a STAT pickup into the route that can actually reach it - Capture custody at the point of transfer, with the time, the container and the person who took it - Log temperature at pickup and at delivery against the specimen rather than against the shift - Hold each driver's hazmat training record where an auditor can find it in one click ## How it works 1. **Plan the run** Standing stops, cutoff times and lab receiving hours build the route, and an on demand pickup slots into the run that can still make the cutoff. 2. **Sign at the transfer** Each handoff records the time, the container, the person and the temperature, so custody is evidence rather than a signature block filled in at the depot. 3. **Close the manifest** The run closes against the lab that received it, and the training and packaging record for that driver sits on the same page as the delivery. ## From the source material > Specimens must be ready at scheduled pick-up time and hand delivered to courier representative. Source: dph.ncdhhs.gov, https://www.dph.ncdhhs.gov/state-lab/mscmedicalcourierpackagingandshippingpdf/open ## Industry context - **1.2 meters** Drop height a Category B infectious substance package must survive with no leakage from the primary receptacle, and at least one outer surface must measure 100 mm by 100 mm. (source: 49 CFR 173.199, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/173.199) - **95 kPa** Internal pressure differential the primary receptacle or secondary packaging must hold without leaking for carriage by aircraft, where no primary receptacle may exceed 1 L and no outer packaging may exceed 4 L. (source: 49 CFR 173.199, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/173.199) - **3 years** Recurrent training cycle for every hazmat employee, with initial training due within 90 days of hire or of a change in job function, and the record kept for 90 days after employment ends. (source: 49 CFR 172.704, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/172.704) - **30 days** Deadline to submit DOT Form F 5800.1 after discovering a reportable incident, with a copy retained for two years and produced within 24 hours of a request by the Department of Transportation. (source: 49 CFR 171.16, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/171.16) - **12 hours** Window for telephone notice to the National Response Center after an incident that meets the immediate notice criteria in the hazardous materials regulations. (source: 49 CFR 171.15, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/171.15) - **1910.1030** The bloodborne pathogens standard, which keeps training records for 3 years, requires hepatitis B vaccination to be offered within 10 working days of assignment, and requires a second container when the outside of the primary one is contaminated. (source: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030, https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030) ## Pricing - Single route: $189 per month - Courier company: $549 per month - Health system: $1,250 per month ## Questions ### What is a medical courier? A medical courier moves diagnostic specimens, blood products and pharmacy items between collection sites and laboratories under a chain of custody. Most of that freight is a Category B infectious substance, which 49 CFR 173.199 requires be triple packaged, with absorbent material between the receptacles and an outer surface at least 100 mm by 100 mm. ### What are the hazmat training rules for courier drivers? 49 CFR 172.704 requires initial training within 90 days of hire or of a change in job function, recurrent training at least once every three years, and a record of current training covering the preceding three years. The employer keeps that record for as long as the person is a hazmat employee and for 90 days afterwards. ### Does this replace our dispatch or routing system? No. It sits beside it. Routing decides who drives where. This holds what was carried, at what temperature, who signed for it and which training record stood behind the driver, which is the part that gets reconstructed after a rejection. ### How does it handle temperature for cold chain runs? Temperature is captured against the specimen at pickup and again at delivery, not once per shift. If a lab rejects a sample you can show the reading at each transfer rather than argue from memory. ### Can it prove custody without a paper manifest? Yes. Each transfer records the time, the container, the person and the reading. The manifest is generated from those transfers, so the paper copy and the record cannot drift apart. ## Sources - [49 CFR 173.199, Category B infectious substances](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/173.199) - [49 CFR 172.704, hazmat training requirements](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/172.704) - [49 CFR 171.16, hazardous materials incident reports](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/171.16) - [49 CFR 171.15, immediate notice of certain hazardous materials incidents](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/171.15) - [OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030, bloodborne pathogens](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1030) - [42 CFR 493.1242, specimen submission, handling and referral](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/493.1242) ## Contact - office@neurobird.com - https://neurobird.com/