Choosing a Medical Courier in Pasadena: 12 RFP Questions
Pasadena sits at the heart of the San Gabriel Valley’s healthcare ecosystem. From Huntington Health, the area’s largest hospital and trauma center, to community clinics and FQHCs supported by the Pasadena Public Health Department, the city serves a wide range of patients with complex needs.
Behind the scenes, medical couriers keep this system moving—moving prescriptions, lab specimens, vaccines, and critical supplies between hospitals, specialty clinics, long-term care facilities, and patient homes.
If you’re issuing an RFP (Request for Proposal) for a medical courier in Pasadena, the questions you ask will determine the quality of partners you attract. Use the 12 RFP questions below to evaluate potential vendors and to benchmark them against a healthcare-focused provider such as Express Courier Services.
1. “What experience do you have with medical and pharmacy deliveries in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley?”
You want more than generic “Southern California” experience. Ask bidders to describe:
Specific work with hospitals, outpatient centers, pharmacies, and skilled nursing facilities in or around Pasadena.
How familiar their drivers are with key corridors (Fair Oaks, Colorado, Lake, 210/134/110 interchanges, etc.).
A strong answer might reference serving systems like Huntington Health or regional outpatient networks in the valley, as well as statewide healthcare clients.
You can show your expectations by pointing bidders to your preferred profile of a partner—similar to how ECS describes its healthcare focus on the Healthcare & Pharmacies page.
2. “How do you comply with California Board of Pharmacy and HIPAA requirements?”
In your RFP, request a written explanation of:
How the courier complies with California Board of Pharmacy regulations for receipt and delivery of prescriptions.
HIPAA awareness training for drivers and office staff.
Policies for safeguarding PHI on labels, manifests, and devices.
You can reference the state’s delivery expectations by linking to a summary of 16 CCR §1713 – Receipt and Delivery of Prescriptions in your RFP background.
Then ask bidders to attach their internal SOPs. Compare their responses to the type of compliance language you see from healthcare-focused providers on pages like ECS’s Courier Services and Healthcare & Pharmacies.
3. “Describe your chain-of-custody, proof-of-delivery, and tamper-evident procedures.”
For hospitals and pharmacies, chain of custody is everything. Ask bidders:
How pickups are verified at the counter, dock, or nursing unit.
How packages are sealed (e.g., tamper-evident bags, seals, or locks).
What proof of delivery (POD) is captured at drop: signature, name, time stamp, photos, barcodes.
4. “What temperature-controlled and cold-chain capabilities do you offer?”
Pasadena’s warm climate makes temperature control especially critical for:
Biologics and injectables
Insulins and refrigerated medications
Lab specimens and vaccines
Ask bidders to detail:
Types of insulated packaging and cold packs.
Use of temperature-controlled vehicles, if any.
How they monitor and document temperature on longer routes.
You can let vendors know you expect a standard similar to what ECS outlines for temperature-controlled transport on its Courier Services and Technologies page.
5. “Which Pasadena and San Gabriel Valley ZIP codes and facility types do you serve on a daily basis?”
A courier might promise “Pasadena coverage,” but your RFP should require specifics:
List of ZIP codes served daily (e.g., 91101–91109, 91030, 91125, etc.).
Types of facilities they already serve: hospitals, FQHCs, retail pharmacies, LTC facilities, home health, hospice.
You can emphasize Pasadena’s diverse healthcare landscape by pointing vendors to the Pasadena Chamber’s healthcare overview, which highlights Huntington Health, community health centers, and other local organizations.
6. “What service levels and SLAs can you commit to (STAT, same-day, scheduled)?”
Your RFP should ask for:
Definitions of STAT, same-day, and scheduled services.
Expected response times and cut-offs for each level.
Historic on-time performance for healthcare clients.
Many pharmacies and hospitals expect SLAs like those outlined in ECS’s Los Angeles-focused article on same-day medical courier expectations.
Ask bidders to share quarterly on-time performance reports as part of their submission.
7. “How do you design and optimize routes for Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley?”
Route design in Pasadena is more complex than dropping pins on a map; you’re dealing with local traffic, freeway interchanges, and time-windows across multiple facilities.
Ask:
How they group hospitals, clinics, LTC facilities, and home deliveries into efficient routes.
Whether they use formal routing tools (e.g., solutions for the vehicle routing problem) rather than manual mapping.
How often they review and refine those routes as volumes change.
As an example of the level of thought you expect, link to ECS’s post on pharmacy route optimization in Riverside & San Bernardino, which shows how another region is handled with data and continuous improvement.
8. “What technology platform do you use for tracking, alerts, and client dashboards?”
Your RFP should require a clear description of the courier’s technology stack:
Real-time GPS tracking and ETA visibility.
SMS or email alerts to your staff or patients.
Web portal or dashboards for viewing all active runs.
API or file-based integrations with your pharmacy software, EHR, or lab systems.
You can show vendors the kind of technology posture you’re looking for by referencing ECS’s Real-Time Shipment Tracking & Technology page, which highlights automated routing, mobile driver apps, blockchain-backed tracking, and more.
9. “How are your drivers recruited, screened, trained, and evaluated?”
Ask potential partners to describe:
Background checks and MVR screening processes.
Initial and ongoing training on HIPAA, PHI handling, specimen integrity, and facility etiquette.
Uniform and ID standards.
How driver performance is monitored and reviewed.
You can compare their responses to how ECS talks about its people and processes on the Our Team page—where each role in the delivery lifecycle is clearly defined and held to measurable standards.
10. “What is your process for incident management, documentation, and root-cause analysis?”
No operation is perfect; what matters is how issues are handled.
In your RFP, ask bidders to outline:
How they log and respond to late deliveries, lost packages, temperature excursions, or documentation errors.
Who is notified and within what time frame.
How they conduct root-cause analysis and prevent repeat issues.
How incident reports are shared with clients.
Medical-focused providers like ECS emphasize 24/7 support and oversight on pages such as their California logistics overview for smart routing and monitoring. You can point bidders to that as the type of active management you expect: Smart Logistics & 24/7 Oversight.
11. “How will you scale with us as our volumes and locations grow?”
Pasadena’s healthcare footprint continues to expand, with systems like Keck Medicine of USC adding large specialty care centers in the city.
Ask bidders how they would:
Add more drivers, vehicles, and routes as your volume increases.
Support new locations (e.g., additional clinics or a central fill site) without disrupting existing service.
Manage seasonal spikes and special projects.
You can reinforce that you’re looking for a long-term partner by linking to ECS’s statewide Courier Services overview, which highlights scalable operations and smooth transition management.
12. “How is your pricing structured, and what’s included in your rate?”
Finally, ask for transparent pricing and a clear explanation of what’s included:
Per-stop or per-mile rates, fuel surcharges, after-hours fees.
Surcharges for STAT, weekend, or holiday runs.
Fees for special handling, temperature control, or dedicated routes.
Any implementation or technology costs.
You can point vendors to ECS’s Contact page and Blogs as examples of how a partner might educate clients about value instead of competing only on price.
Encourage bidders to include scenario pricing (e.g., “Pasadena hospital + local clinics + LTC facilities”) so you can compare proposals apples-to-apples.
Bringing It All Together
Pasadena is a true healthcare hub, with hospitals, FQHCs, outpatient sites, long-term care facilities, and specialty practices all depending on reliable logistics. The 12 RFP questions above will help you separate general couriers from true medical logistics partners.
If you want a reference point for what strong answers look like, you can compare responses against:
ECS’s healthcare overview: Healthcare & Pharmacies
Their detailed tech stack: Technologies
Regional thought leadership:
When you’re ready to discuss how a Pasadena-specific medical courier program could look—routes, SLAs, technology, and pricing—you can invite vendors (including ECS) to contact you directly or submit through your RFP portal. For ECS, that starts at the Contact Express Courier Services page.
