Contact
Information
Treasure Valley Laboratory
5475 Bethel Street
Boise, ID 83706
Phone: 208-367-6392
Fax: 208-672-1167
TVL has long recognized that quality and timely laboratory results begin with the ability to rapidly and consistently move specimens to the laboratory.
Staffed
24 hours a day,
365 days a year
Courier service is available to TVL clients for transporting specimens from many locations throughout the TVL service area.
We use a combination of TVL vehicles and employees as well as contract couriers to facilitate specimen transportation needs in metro areas. We also have an extensive contract courier network to cover rural and remote areas.
- Special courier services can be established if deemed necessary and appropriate arrangements are made.
- Pickup frequency is determined by referral volume, distance from testing sites and turnaround time requirements.
- TVL offers flexible times for specimen pickup from your office. If necessary, we can arrange multiple daily pickup times or after-hours pickups with specimen lock-boxes.
Route Management and Dynamic Dispatch
TVL utilizes state-of-the-art information systems to schedule and track courier pickup and deliveries.
- We plan specific pickup requirements and use those parameters to create the most efficient routes possible. Our goal is to reduce miles and distance traveled as to impose a smaller economic impact on our roadways and fossil fuel dependence while doing our best to service the needs of the medical community.
- STAT pickups are also available for your more urgent testing needs in select geographic regions. We generally strive to pickup specimens with urgent testing needs and deliver to testing facilities within one hour. But, daily traffic volume and other extraneous factors do hamper those goals occasionally so it is not guaranteed.
- Please call TVL to schedule STAT specimens that are ready for pickup or when you have specimens available and your facility is not scheduled for regular stops.
- Routes are dynamically adjusted as needed to respond to pick up requests, traffic, and weather to ensure efficient and flexible pickups.
Preparing Specimens
- All specimens should be packaged prior to courier pickup as required by DOT requirements.
- If specimens will be transported via air they must also meet IATA guidelines.
- All specimens must be accompanied by a manifest or requisition detailing the amount, type, etc. as required by federal regulations.
- Most laboratory clients are provided with a manifest which lists package contents. Outreach clients should prepare all specimens in transport bags with an associated bar-coded requisition and or bar-coded manifest.
Scheduled Courier Pickups and Deliveries
At the onset of service with TVL, a client will be scheduled to a courier route.
- If the client is scheduled to a courier route, the courier will routinely pickup specimens and deliver supplies.
- A client may need to have a courier scheduled everyday or only on selected days.
- The client may also need to have more than one pickup or delivery per day if scheduling and testing volume permits.
Unscheduled Specimen Pickups
On-call pickups, STAT pickups, and pickups outside the regularly scheduled courier stop are considered unscheduled pickups.
- Clients should notify TVL at 1-208-367-6392 of an unscheduled pickup as soon as possible to avoid any delays that might result in a pickup not being made before their closing.
- TVL will strive to accommodate clients by scheduling pickup times as late in the day as possible and still allow time for the specimens to arrive at the laboratory for overnight testing and early-morning resulting to the client.
Staff Training
All couriers undergo accredited training to handle samples properly, trained in Hazardous Materials Awareness through a DOT accredited class and are instructed on defensive driving techniques.