Proof of delivery and ride report in medical transport: what it records, what it can record and what it proves

The carriage law in Book 8 of the Dutch Civil Code obliges the carrier to deliver the goods without delay and in the condition in which they were received. The party that has to show this is the carrier, and the only way is to record it: when, to whom, in which condition. The Dutch General Transport Conditions (AVC), which apply only when expressly agreed, give a consignment note and electronic messages evidential value for this, subject to proof to the contrary: receipt in apparently good condition, weight and number.

For medical shipments a second layer is added. The GDP guidelines require delivery to the addressee at the address on the delivery note and, on request, temperature information for the customer. A laboratory wants to know under which conditions a specimen arrived, because the result depends on it. A signature on a screen without name, time and condition of the shipment answers none of those questions.

A ride report exists because a ride is something that passes. What happened at the front desk at 14:12 is something nobody knows precisely an hour later, unless it was recorded. The report is therefore documentation of the execution: what was done, when, by whom and under which circumstances. The client uses it to demonstrate its own obligation, for instance the wholesaler that remains responsible under GDP for the transport it outsources. The laboratory uses it when a question arises about a result: how long was the specimen on the way and at which temperature? The pharmacy uses it when a delivery is disputed. And the carrier uses it itself, because without a report it stands empty-handed at every question.

Actual times are worth more than planned ones. A window from 15:00 to 16:00 says nothing about how long a specimen was outside the laboratory; a recorded pickup at 14:12 and a delivery at 15:03 does. The same applies to temperature: the measured values belong in the same report as the times, so that afterwards it is clear what was measured when. And in the event of a deviation the report is where the notification, the investigation and the client's decision come together. How that temperature recording works is explained in temperature logging in medical transport; what should happen in the event of a deviation in temperature excursion during transport.

No law prescribes the fields. Carriage law, the GDP guidelines and the ADR's duty to check do make clear which data a report needs to do its job. Which of them are filled on a given ride depends on the order; in practice it comes down to this.

• The ride number or another unique reference that recurs on confirmation, report and invoice.
• The actual pickup and delivery time, not the planned one.
• Pickup and delivery address and the addressee: the location of each handover.
• The delivery status: delivered, refused, recipient not present, returned.
• Name and role of the person who handed over the shipment and of the person who received it, with signature.
• The condition of the shipment at handover: intact, dry, mark present, seal intact where applicable.
• The measured temperature where the condition calls for it, with time, instrument and who measured; 'not measured' if no measurement was taken.
• Particulars and deviations, with what was done, to whom they were reported and what the client decided.

Proof of delivery is the term commonly used in logistics for the evidence of delivery. In practice it is not one thing but a set of components, and not every component is present on every order. An envelope of documents needs no more than status, time and recipient; a refrigerated shipment for a laboratory additionally calls for the temperature and the condition of the packaging.

• The delivery status: was the shipment delivered, and if not, why not.
• The time of the handover, as the actual moment and not as a planned window.
• The recipient: name and role, so that it is clear afterwards who accepted the shipment.
• The signature, as confirmation by the recipient at the moment itself.
• A photo of the handover, where appropriate and agreed in advance, as additional evidence.
• Other evidence belonging to the shipment: temperature, seal, mark, condition of the packaging.

A reporting system can have many fields. That a field exists does not mean it is filled on every ride: a photo of the handover is a possibility, not a standard; a temperature measurement belongs with shipments that have a condition, not with an envelope of documents; a seal only if one was applied. Anyone assessing a carrier therefore asks not 'can you record this' but 'what do you record on every ride, and what only by arrangement'. An honest report leaves an empty field empty or says 'not recorded'; a report that colours everything green promises more than it proves.

Chain of custody is the unbroken series of records of every handover. For a medical shipment that means, very practically, that afterwards it can be seen who had the shipment, when the handovers took place, between which parties, and which relevant events were recorded on the way: a measurement, a seal that was checked, a deviation that was reported. In specimen transport there are at least two handovers, from sender to courier and from courier to laboratory, and for both the time, the names and the condition should be recorded. That is how the laboratory can answer a question about a result afterwards and how the file shows who was responsible for what.

The ADR's duty to check fits in here: on acceptance the carrier ascertains by visual inspection that the shipment shows no obvious defects, leakage or cracks, and that is exactly what it records under the condition of the shipment. How specimens move through the chain is explained in transporting medical specimens and in laboratory transport.

The name of a recipient, a signature with a name and a photo in which people are recognisable are personal data within the meaning of the GDPR; for photos the Dutch Data Protection Authority says so expressly, and also that business use requires a legal basis. The first principle for a proof of delivery is therefore: record only what is needed for the agreed purpose. Name and role of the person signing, no date of birth, no patient data. Store securely and make it accessible only to those who need it.

For a photo of the handover that principle applies twice over. A photo can, where appropriate and agreed in advance, serve as additional evidence of the handover. Good practice is then to show the shipment or the moment of handover and no more than that: no face if it is not needed, no patient data or medical records, no screens showing personal data, no labels carrying more data than necessary, and where possible no passers-by.

How long a proof of delivery is kept follows from the purpose and from statutory obligations: personal data are not kept longer than necessary for the purpose for which they are processed, taking into account periods set by other laws, such as the tax retention obligation for business records. The GDPR itself names no period; a carrier sets its periods per type of data and states them in its privacy statement. Which role a carrier has under the GDPR depends on the specific processing and on who determines its purpose and means; that is an assessment per type of data, not a label for the whole company.

A proof of delivery proves the handover: that the shipment was given at that moment, in that condition, to that person. It also proves what was measured. It does not prove what the recipient did not check: visible damage should be noted at the handover, because afterwards it is one word against another. And it is documentation of the execution, not a judgement about the product. Which other documents belong with a ride is explained in transport documents in medical transport.

• Not a quality release: a measured value within the condition is a fact that the owner of the product assesses.
• Not proof that a medicine is still usable; that follows from the stability data and the client's judgement.
• Not proof that a specimen is analytically suitable; the laboratory judges that.
• Not a substitute for the classification and packaging of a specimen; those remain the sender's responsibility.

UrgentX works with a digital ride report per ride. At every handover we record the actual time and the name and role of the person signing. For shipments with a temperature condition the temperature is measured at pickup and at delivery and recorded with the time and the driver's name; if no measurement was taken at a stop, the file says 'not recorded'. A photo of the handover can be added as additional evidence where appropriate and agreed in advance. In the event of a deviation we report immediately, do not deliver without your release and record the deviation in the file. The request form and the portal ask for no patient data. The file of every ride is available after the ride in your organisation's customer portal, with reports and invoices. How a ride with us works is described under how we work; the services this report belongs to under medical transport and courier services.