Medication deliveries by drone? WellSpan plans to roll it out soon
WellSpan Health will take pharmacy delivery to the skies and use drones to deliver medications.
WellSpan is partnering with Zipline, the world’s largest autonomous delivery service, to use Zipline’s electric, autonomous drones to transport prescriptions directly to patients’ homes and move lab samples and medical products between its facilities, according to a news release. Zipline’s aircraft will make deliveries up to seven times faster than current automotive delivery, the release said.
WellSpan is the first health system to introduce this type of technology and delivery system at scale in Pennsylvania.
“WellSpan continues to reimagine what healthcare can look like for our patients. With Zipline, we’re creating a future for our patients where getting a prescription filled is as simple as pressing a button. We’re making our system lower cost, faster and more sustainable by bringing this exceptional technology to South Central Pennsylvania,” Roxanna Gapstur, Ph.D., R.N., president and CEO, WellSpan Health said in the release. “We know the easier it is to access care, the healthier people can be. With Zipline, we’re connecting healthcare straight to your front door.”
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The partnership will use Zipline’s Platform 2 home delivery system. The drone flies to its destination and hovers safely high up in the sky, while its autonomous delivery droid descends on a tether, steers to the correct location and drops off its package to an area as small as a patio table or the front steps of a home.
Patients will know the minute their medication will arrive.
The drones, known as Zips, are built with fully redundant flight critical systems and have safety and privacy features. Zipline flies in almost all weather conditions.
Over the coming years, WellSpan will integrate Zipline’s service within select facilities and will share more details about how patients can sign up to use the service when it becomes operational.
To join Zipline’s waitlist visit FlyZipline.com/get-delivery.
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This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Medication deliveries by drone: WellSpan will roll it out soon
