Amazon will test drones to deliver medicines to your doorstep

FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Soon you’ll be able to stand in your driveway and wait for your prescription pills to fall from the sky.

On Wednesday, Amazon Pharmacy announced it will begin testing the use of drones to quickly deliver medications at select locations.

“From the earliest days of medical school, we have been taught that there is an important golden window in clinical medicine,” Dr. Vin Gupta, chief medical officer of Amazon Pharmacy, said in a company press release. “This is the time between when a patient feels unwell and when they can receive treatment. time. We at Amazon are working hard to dramatically shorten the golden window from diagnosis to treatment, and drone delivery marks an important step forward. Whether it’s an infectious or respiratory disease, early intervention is critical to improving patient care. Effects are crucial. “

While the company has delivered some prescriptions via Amazon Prime in two days, the drone delivery method takes an hour, according to the company.

“Our drones fly over traffic, eliminating the excessive time our customers’ packages spend on the road,” explained Calsee Hendrickson, director of product and program management at Prime Air. “That’s what drones are for. The beauty of delivery, pharmaceuticals are the number one thing our customers say they also want delivered quickly via drone. Speed ​​and convenience are the top desires for health purchases.”

Customers in College Station, Texas, are the first to test the service, which Amazon says has already begun.

The drones are programmed to fly from the secure dispensary to the distribution center, then descend 13 feet toward customers to drop padded packages.

The drone is expected to fly up to 400 feet. The drone can also check that the area is clear of children and pets before releasing the package.

The company said it will make more than 500 medicines available this way, including treatments for influenza and pneumonia.

The company also plans to add a third drone delivery system in cities in the United States, Italy and the United Kingdom by the end of 2024. By the same day, the company will launch a new drone called the MK30. According to the Associated Press, the drone is smaller, quieter and can fly farther.

Amazon has been expanding its presence in healthcare, including spending nearly $4 billion to acquire primary care provider One Medical. In August, the company added telemedicine services in all 50 states, according to the Associated Press.

Other companies have also expressed interest in delivering medicines via drones, including CVS Health. A CVS spokesperson told the news organization that the company partnered with UPS to test delivery in 2019 but no longer does so.

Since 2021, Intermountain Health has been delivering prescriptions via drone in the Salt Lake City area. Daniel Duersch, the health system’s director of supply chain, told The Associated Press that the company is expanding the program. The company is working with Zipline to use drones to drop packages with parachutes.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more information about prescription drug development and approval.

Source: Associated Press.