2026 American Nurse Survey Shows Medical Courier Failures Are Rising

Partnering with a reliable healthcare logistics provider can improve care delivery while driving meaningful savings

ELMHURST, Ill., May 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new survey from American Nurse Journal finds that medical courier delays and errors significantly impact nurses and patient care, with disruption increasing since the survey was first conducted in 2022.

Of nurses surveyed in 2026, 98% said courier performance impacts their work weekly, while 95% said courier delays or errors have impacted their ability to provide care at least once a month. Compared with previous years, the 2026 survey shows a meaningful shift in responses, suggesting that what was already a widespread issue has become a growing operational challenge.

"More clearly than ever, nurses on the front lines are telling us that healthcare logistics directly impacts patient care," said Jake Crampton, CEO of MedSpeed. "When courier performance breaks down, which it very often does, it pulls nurses away from patients and disrupts care delivery."

The 2026 survey also highlights the frequency and clinical consequences of these disruptions. A striking 91% of nurses reported that they had to reschedule a patient procedure in the past year due to a courier error or delay, while 29% had to reschedule procedures more than five times in the past year, and 21% have had to reschedule procedures "way too many times to count."

The survey further revealed that nurses are compensating for unreliable courier performance, with 91% maintaining "secret stashes" of supplies and 87% personally transporting items between facilities. These burdens create waste and pull nurses away from their essential duty of caring for patients.

This kind of clinical disruption from courier performance has significant financial and operational consequences. Separate research shows that a procedure delay costs approximately $4,500 on average. In addition, remediation for specimen handling costs $0.50 per specimen moved, leading to added spend of more than $1 million annually for an average three- to four-hospital health system. These discrete costs do not consider the broader impacts such as patient dissatisfaction and potential loss of revenue.

"This survey demonstrates that the cost of logistics extends far beyond the transportation cost itself," Crampton added. "Delays, repeat work, and workaround behaviors are happening more than many health system leaders may realize. They create ripple effects that impact patient experience, staff efficiency, and overall system performance. Investing in a top-tier logistics provider — with meaningfully better results in reducing error rates compared with the industry average (e.g., error rates as low as 1 in 20,000 stops vs. industry norms of 1 in 1,000) — is essential to improving both care quality and the total cost of care."

The survey, which received 459 responses, was conducted by American Nurse Journal, the official journal of the American Nurses Association, on behalf of MedSpeed, from February 3 to March 5, 2026. The American Nurse Journal conducted previous surveys in 2024 (308 respondents) and in 2022 (353 respondents).

About MedSpeed
MedSpeed is a leading provider of same-day logistics to the healthcare industry, integrating healthcare organizations through the enterprise-wide movement of medical materials. It transforms transportation into a strategic asset that more effectively utilizes scale, reduces risk, eliminates redundancies, and centralizes services. The company has grown from a Chicago-based startup into a national enterprise with over 100 hub operations across 33 states. Its client base includes 29 of the top 100 health systems in the country. www.medspeed.com

Media Contact:
Alison Huffines
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SOURCE MedSpeed