When a patient says a prescription never arrived, or a relative asks who received their mother's medication, or an inspector asks how you evidence safe delivery, the answer is a record. Proof of delivery is that record. This guide covers what it should contain, how controlled drugs and fridge lines change it, and why a photo and a timestamp are worth more than a signature on a clipboard.
Why it matters
Delivery is part of the supply. The pharmacy remains responsible for the medicine until it is handed to the patient or their representative, and the GPhC's standards for registered pharmacies expect a pharmacy to be able to show that its delivery arrangements are safe and that medicines are handed over appropriately. Beyond regulation, proof of delivery settles disputes, protects drivers from unfair accusations, and tells you what actually happened on a failed drop.
What a proof-of-delivery record should contain
- What was delivered — the patient and, ideally, a reference to the items or bag
- To whom — the patient, a named representative, or a safe-place instruction the patient gave
- When — an automatic timestamp, not a time written in later
- Where — a location captured at the moment of handover
- By whom — the driver's identity
- Evidence — a signature, a photo of the handover or safe place, or both
- For failed deliveries — the reason, what was done with the medicine (returned to the pharmacy), and the follow-up arranged
A paper sheet can hold most of this. What it does not do is timestamp automatically, capture location, store a photo, or let you find the record six months later without going through a drawer.
Controlled drugs
Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs delivered to a patient's home need a handover record consistent with your controlled drugs SOP: who received the medicine, when, and the driver's confirmation. Many pharmacies require a signature specifically for CD handovers and do not permit safe-place delivery of CDs. Delivery software should flag CD items to the driver, require the appropriate proof before the drop can be marked complete, and keep that record separate and searchable. Check your SOPs and your superintendent's requirements; the software should enforce them, not replace them.
Fridge lines
Temperature-sensitive items need to be kept within range from the fridge to the patient. The proof-of-delivery record should show the item was flagged as a fridge line, the time it left the pharmacy and the time it was delivered, so you can demonstrate it was within your round's time limit in an insulated bag. Software that prioritises fridge drops early in the round helps with this by design.
Safe-place and "left with neighbour"
If a patient has asked for medication to be left in a safe place or with a neighbour, record that instruction once against the patient, show it to the driver on every drop, and capture a photo of where it was left. Never leave CDs, fridge items or anything requiring counselling this way. A photo of a bag on a doorstep has resolved more "it never arrived" conversations than any other single record.
Patient communication as evidence
A message to the patient when the driver sets off and when the delivery is made is a service benefit and, incidentally, part of the record: it shows the patient was told, and when. If the patient replies "I'm out today", you have avoided a failed drop.
Retention
Keep delivery records for as long as your data retention policy sets for dispensing records, and be able to produce a specific record on request. Set this out in your privacy notice; delivery records are personal data.
Paper vs digital
Below a handful of drops a day, a well-designed paper sheet with a signature column and a "left where" column is defensible. Above that, digital wins on every count: automatic timestamps and locations, photos, CD flags the driver cannot ignore, and instant search. The wider case for software is in what to look for in pharmacy delivery software, and the operational setup in setting up a pharmacy delivery service.
Routly captures signature, photo, timestamp and location for every drop, flags CD and fridge items to the driver, records failed deliveries with a reason, and keeps every record searchable by patient.