How to Become a Medical Courier

A medical courier is a professional delivery driver who specializes in transporting medical items to and from healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, and laboratories, as well as patients’ homes.

The items they transport often include:

• Medical supplies and equipment
• Prescription drugs
• Hard copies of medical records
• Lab specimens and samples

Primary responsibilities of a medical courier

There’s more to a medical courier’s job than simply driving from one destination to another. This is a delivery driving gig, but it’s a higher-pressure one than delivering packages or meals.

Beyond just picking up items and dropping them off, medical couriers also have to:

• Plan efficient routes to minimize travel time (for obvious reasons, it’s very important for medical deliveries to arrive on schedule)
• Maintain temperature control for specific items, such as blood samples or certain medications
• Verify delivery information and keep detailed records
• Communicate with dispatchers and customers clearly
• Keep a clean and sanitary environment in the delivery vehicle

Professional ethics for medical couriers

Additionally, medical couriers sometimes have professional and ethical codes that they’re expected to follow. In particular, they may have to take measures to protect their customers’ privacy and confidentiality.

The main regulation that governs patient confidentiality is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which closely regulates the circumstances under which patients’ protected health information (PHI) may be shared. 1

The US Department of Health and Services doesn’t explicitly require medical couriers to comply with HIPAA. This legislation mainly governs actual healthcare professionals, such as physicians and nurses.

However, because couriers often transport PHI items, many delivery companies and medical facilities still require their drivers to be both HIPAA-certified (meaning they’ve been formally trained and know the rules) and HIPAA-compliant (meaning they must take active steps to actually follow them and ensure their customers’ privacy). We’ll discuss certification in more detail below.

ZipRecruiter reports that, as of July 2024, medical couriers in the US earn an average of $17 per hour. 2

It isn’t entirely clear where they sourced this number from, but it aligns with statistics that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the year before that. According to the BLS, in May 2023, couriers for “medical and diagnostic laboratories” and “medical and surgical hospitals” earned hourly mean wages of $18.91 and $18.16, respectively.

This is also roughly in line with what other types of couriers to make. Our research has generally found that delivery drivers (such as gig workers for apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash) earn an average of $15–$20 per hour, before accounting for their expenses.

What affects your pay as a medical courier?

As a medical courier, your earnings will be affected by your:

• Location: If you live in an expensive place (e.g., a dense urban area), you’ll get paid more than if you live in a smaller town or in the suburbs.
• Experience: The longer you’ve been doing medical courier work, the more you can probably earn for it, at least up to a point. The potential for advancement in this role is limited, but highly experienced couriers may be able to earn at least a few dollars more per hour than novices.
• Urgency: The majority of your deliveries probably won’t be urgent, but some of them might be, and you may be eligible for bonuses for completing them efficiently.

In addition, how much you work (i.e., the total number of deliveries you complete) will also affect how much you take home at the end of the day, although it won’t affect your per-delivery or per-hour rates.

Follow these steps to get started as a medical courier:

1. Check that you meet the eligibility requirements

Most medical courier gigs are entry-level, so they don’t usually have very strict requirements. We’ve listed the ones you’ll probably need to meet below:

• Age: Most medical courier companies require their drivers to be at least 18 years old.
• Education: You’ll need a high school diploma or GED for this job, but you won’t need a university degree.
• Driver’s license: You must hold a valid driver’s license to do this job.
• Transportation: Depending on the company you work for, you may have to provide your own vehicle. If so, it should be insured, inspected, and not too old (ideally no more than 10 years old, although company requirements vary). You’ll have an easier time if you have a car rather than a motorcycle or scooter, for reasons that we’ll elaborate on below.
• Equipment: Here again, you may have to provide some of your own gear, including navigational tools (e.g., a GPS). You might also have to provide protective equipment for certain medical items (insulated containers, gloves, coolers, and tamper-evident seals), although your employer is more likely to provide these.
• Physical fitness: You might sometimes have to lift and carry heavy medical equipment. At minimum, you should be able to lift at least 20–30 lb comfortably, and ideally, you’ll be able to lift 50+.

Do you have to pass a background check to become a medical courier?

Due to the sensitive nature of the items you’ll be handling, you may have to pass a background check to get a medical courier job. If you’ve ever been convicted of a serious crime (i.e., a felony), you’ll probably be disqualified.

Employers also prefer candidates with reasonably clean driving records, although if you have a few minor blips, such as one or two speeding tickets, you’ll probably be fine.

Note that in many cases, you’ll also be required to undergo regular drug testing.

What kind of vehicle do you need to be a medical courier?

Again, as a medical courier, you may need to provide your own vehicle. Because some deliveries may need to be transported in a cool and clean environment, landing work will be easier if you have a car than if you have a motorcycle or scooter.

Ideally, your car will also be compact and fuel-efficient—anecdotally, many couriers report that they prefer driving hybrids. That’s because you’ll almost certainly be responsible for your own vehicle operating costs (e.g., gas), and the less they eat into your profits, the more money you’ll take home at the end of the day.

2. Brush up the skills you’ll need

Most of the skills that medical couriers need are soft skills that almost anyone can perfect if they put their mind to it.

You’ll need to possess the following skills:

• Driving and navigation: You probably won’t be surprised to learn you need a good sense of direction and the ability to use navigational tools to succeed in this job.
• Attention to detail: On every delivery, you’ll be responsible for making sure you’re picking up the correct items and following any special instructions you received on how to store and transport them. Because the stakes with medical deliveries are so high, you can’t afford to let your brain go on autopilot the way you can with other delivery gigs like DoorDash.
• Discretion: As mentioned, the items you deliver may be sensitive, so it’s very important to keep them confidential. This doesn’t require you to take extraordinary measures—it just means you need to remember to avoid talking about your job in detail with your family members and friends.
• Communication: This is an important skill in almost every job. You should be able to communicate effectively with the customers you deliver to, as well as with your employer and colleagues.
• Problem-solving: When things don’t go as planned (e.g., when you get stuck in traffic or a package gets damaged during transit), you need the ability to stay calm, resolve the immediate issue as best you can, and exercise your judgment as to whether you need to kick it up the chain of command for further assistance.

3. Obtain relevant certifications

Because some employers require their medical couriers to possess certain certifications, it could be worth your time to get certified before you start applying for jobs. That isn’t absolutely required—many companies will also sponsor your certification after they hire you—but it may give you a leg up over the competition when you’re hunting for work.

Look into the following qualifications:

• HIPAA certification: This is the most important credential for medical couriers. There are many different organizations that provide it, but whichever you opt for must be accredited by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HIPAA Exams is one of the most widely recognized certifying organizations in this space.
• BBP certification: Some medical couriers also get certified to handle samples that contain bloodborne pathogens (BBP). Here again, there are many organizations that offer this credential, but the biggest name is arguably the Red Cross. The only hard requirement is that the certifying organization be recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Neither of these credentials will take much time (or money) to acquire. Both typically require just a few hours of study, plus a short test, and cost under $40, with the exact price depending on the organization awarding them.

4. Create a solid resume

Once you’ve made sure you meet the eligibility requirements and have the necessary skills, it’s time to create a resume tailored to medical courier positions.

Your resume should include:

• Your full name and contact information
• A brief summary of your educational background
• Any certifications you have
• A note that you’re licensed to drive, with a clean record (mention what state your license is from)
• Any and all skills relevant to the position
• Your work experience, with a particular focus on jobs in delivery service or the healthcare industry (if applicable)

Presentation and polish both matter, so pay attention to how your resume is formatted, and triple-check your spelling and grammar. It helps to use an automatic spellchecker, but don’t rely on it—you should also proofread your resume manually.

5. Apply for jobs

Now that you have a resume and are well-prepared for the job, there’s nothing left other than to start applying.

Most people who do this kind of job either work full-time for a single medical courier company or as an independent contractor. Here are a few different places to look for medical courier jobs:

• Courier companies: Conduct an online search for local and nationwide medical courier companies, such as Capital Courier Services, MedSpeed, and Medical Couriers. Apply through their websites or contact them directly. You can also see if there are any medical courier jobs available with generalist courier platforms, such as Dropoff.
• Healthcare companies: Check out healthcare companies’ career pages for medical courier jobs. For instance, Labcorp offers medical courier positions and operates in most US states.
• Online job boards: Last but not least, you can use online job boards, such as Indeed, Glassdoor, and SimplyHired, to find medical courier jobs.

If you have the time, consider networking with other professionals on online groups for medical and general couriers. It’s worth joining the Medical Couriers Facebook group and the Reddit community r/couriersofreddit. Doing so will net you first-hand information and may even lead you to job opportunities.

6. Prepare for (and ace) your job interview

Hunting and applying for jobs might take a while, but eventually, you’ll land an interview. Medical courier positions are entry-level, so this probably won’t be too strenuous, but you should still do everything you can to prepare for it.

We’ve listed several questions that you might be asked below. Think beforehand about how to answer these:

• Do you feel comfortable carrying heavy items up to 50 Ib? Employers will want to know if you’re physically able to lift heavy medical equipment.
• Do you have any experience using electronic logging devices (ELDs) or delivery tracking systems? Being familiar with tracking and documentation technology will give you a leg up, as your employer won’t have to spend time teaching you how to use it. Even if you’ve never used it before, look it up ahead of time so you can honestly say you’re familiar with it.
• What would you do if you knew a delivery would be late due to traffic or adverse weather? This question is a test of your communication skills; you need to reassure the interviewer that you’ll be able to contact and explain the situation to your customers in a professional manner. If you can, cite examples of how you’ve handled similar situations in jobs in the past.
• What would you do if an item was severely damaged during transit? This is a situation that needs to be kicked up the chain. Demonstrating that you can recognize issues like that—and that you won’t attempt to cover them up—will strengthen your candidacy.
• Why do you want this job? This is a very common question in many different fields. Answer honestly but enthusiastically. A response that’s along the lines of, “I enjoy driving, and I like the idea of doing deliveries that will really help people” will probably go over well.

Remember that you’ll be judged not just on the content of your answers but also your tone and demeanor. Wear something nice, be polite, try not to get intimidated or frazzled, and use your interview to demonstrate how you’ll interact with customers.

7. Stay up to date on and compliant with relevant rules and regulations

Once you land a job, you’re all set! Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back, but don’t get too comfortable. You’ll need to put in ongoing work to keep up with the latest industry standards regarding transporting medical and confidential items.

Be sure to regularly review existing delivery protocols and procedures and carefully go over any new ones your company publishes.

If your company offers any free training sessions, workshops, or certification opportunities, do yourself a favor and sign up for them to stay on top of your game.