Lab and specimen courier · 2026
A lab choosing a courier is choosing who moves a specimen before the hold time runs out, who records the handoff, and who is trained for blood and temperature. This page compares Dragonfly with couriers that publish those facts on their own sites. It is not a ranking. Prices and star ratings are left out.
Pages checked October 28, 2026. Sources are listed at the bottom.
| Service | Type | STAT / same-day | Temperature | Custody and training | Ordering | Coverage as stated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dragonfly | Lab courier and specimen transport. You do not hire the fleet. | STAT from 30 minutes, with live tracking and a ±3-minute ETA. Same-day scheduled and recurring routes. | The lab names ambient, refrigerated, or frozen. Cold chain certified with temperature monitoring and documentation. | Signature and photo at each handoff. HIPAA-trained, background-checked drivers. OSHA-trained for bloodborne pathogens and hazmat. CAP-aligned pathology handling. | Orders API, documented at /developers. | 1,000s of cities across the US and Canada. A lane is confirmed on the quote. |
| MedSpeed | Same-day healthcare logistics for laboratories. Homepage: 100% employee-based team. | The laboratory page says same-day logistics. A case study describes STAT and urgent specimen transport. A standing STAT minute-window is not on the laboratory page. | A cold-chain article describes compartments for room temperature, refrigerated, and frozen, plus NIST-calibrated data loggers. | The privacy policy says MedSpeed follows privacy regulations for protected health information, including HIPAA. The laboratory page describes barcode scan and a customer portal. A signature-and-photo chain of custody is not on that page. | Customer portal for ordering, scheduling, and status. A public API is not stated on the laboratory page. | Homepage: 34 states and 150+ locations. The laboratory page says 33 states. Both figures are theirs. |
| Dropoff | Same-day courier. The FAQ names laboratory specimens among temperature-controlled items. | Same-day. The pharmacy page also lists STAT and next-day. | FAQ: temperature-control for sensitive items, including laboratory specimens and pharma products. | Healthcare page: drivers are HIPAA certified and bloodborne pathogen certified. Pharmacy page: digital chain of custody. | FAQ: a standard API for order placement and updates, JSON or XML. Documentation is requested from sales. | Pharmacy page: more than 50 markets, and same-day across 50+ US cities. |
| Lab Logistics | Dedicated couriers on the same route. Service page: over 450 hospitals and labs in the U.S. | Same driver, same route. A STAT minute-window is not stated on the service page. | Couriers handle ambient, refrigerated, and frozen specimens, and carry specimen transport coolers. | Couriers are compliant with OSHA, IATA, TSA, and HIPAA, as the service page states. The pharmacy and home health page says the portal keeps chain of custody, signatures, and photo proof. | That page describes an OMS with online order entry, barcode scanning, and GPS. A public API is not named. | Over 450 hospitals and labs in the U.S. A city count is not on the service page. |
| ParaWorks | Gig driver pool. The same-day page lists medical specimens, samples, blood, and tests among what drivers deliver. | Same-day local delivery up to 50 miles, posted 3 hours ahead, and next-day. | Not stated on the same-day or pharmacy pages cited. | The same-day page says HIPAA, TWIC, and TSA-compliant drivers for pharmaceuticals and hazardous material. The partners page describes a digital chain of custody. | Hospital-at-home page: a delivery API connects to a TMS, POS, WMS, or ERP. | Pharmacy page: 100,000+ gig drivers and 70+ cities. |
| MediFleet | UK medical courier. The quote page lists pathology and blood samples. | Urgent couriers can often be dispatched within 30–60 minutes, as that page states. 24/7 dispatch. | The quote page says validated temperature-controlled solutions. | GDP and MHRA on the partner page. UK GDPR on the privacy page. Electronic POD and an audit trail on the quote page. HIPAA is not stated. The service agreement says chain of custody for pathology samples. | A public API is not stated on the pages cited. Booking is a quote form and a phone line. | United Kingdom, as the quote and contact pages state. Not a US or Canada coverage claim. |
| In-house couriers | Your own staff. Not a vendor. | Whatever hours you staff. | Whatever coolers and vehicles you maintain. | You own the training, the log, and any agreement. | Whatever you build. | The stops you staff that day. |
Ask each option the same questions, including us. What is the STAT window, and how is it measured? Who names the temperature band, and who is told if it leaves that band? Is chain of custody a signature and a photo, or a scan only? Are drivers trained for bloodborne pathogens? Does the order enter through an API or a portal? Does the price move when the day gets busy?
Dragonfly's published answers are on the lab courier page. STAT is quoted from 30 minutes, with live tracking and a ±3-minute ETA. The lab names ambient, refrigerated, or frozen. Cold chain is certified with temperature monitoring and documentation. Drivers are background-checked and HIPAA-trained, and OSHA-trained for bloodborne pathogen and hazmat handling. Handling protocols follow College of American Pathologists standards for pathology work. Signature and photo confirmation are captured at each handoff. Pricing is custom enterprise, based on volume, distance, and service requirements, with no surge pricing and no commission on order value. Coverage is 1,000s of cities across the US and Canada, and a lane is confirmed on the quote.
UN3373 is the mark a lab should require on Category B work. This table does not award that mark to anyone, including Dragonfly, beyond the training lines already published. Where a cell says the page does not state it, ask them.
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These are lab and specimen couriers with a public page that states what they carry and how. Dragonfly is listed first because this is our site. The other rows are MedSpeed, Dropoff, Lab Logistics, ParaWorks, MediFleet, and in-house couriers. In-house couriers are a model, not a company.
No. There is no score and no star rating. A cell says what that company published on the page cited in Sources, or it says the cited page does not state it. Not stated is not the same as a no.
MediFleet publishes a laboratory courier service in the United Kingdom. The row says so. It is not a claim that MediFleet covers the US or Canada, and it is not a claim that Dragonfly covers the UK.
Dragonfly does not publish a dollar price per delivery. Pricing is custom enterprise, based on volume, distance, and service requirements, with no surge and no commission on order value. How pricing works is on /lab-specimen-courier. Competitor rate cards are omitted. Where a company publishes its own rates, the Sources list points at that page.