The year was 2019…… and that BUZZ you were hearing was all about drone deliveries of everything from pizza to prescriptions. But by 2020…. mostly crickets!
After that warm start, the zeal for drone deliveries cooled. A number of companies, including UPS, FedEx, CVS, Walmart, Amazon and more were saying that drone delivery would the next best thing…. some day.
So, what’s happened since?
In short, very little has been said publicly, but it seems that experimentation continues at a quiet pace while ‘proof -of-concept’ is still being nailed down.
What has been learned is that drones can reliably cover a round trip of about 150 miles flying at speeds of 60+ MPH. A delivery van would have difficulty consistently matching that speed….. but they might have 50 or more deliveries to make…. not just one. Standard drones have a weight limitation of about 5 pounds, which is OK for most prescriptions. Commercial drones run more than $10,000 each with high-capacity drones running multiples of that amount. Then there is the expense of maintenance and who the heck is going to remotely ‘pilot’ the flights? Cost per delivery by van runs less than $10 today according to Amazon and other national companies. The cost per drone delivery will need to come down significantly to compete.
But, Michigan Medicine is bravely stepping outside the hanger as an early adopters of the drone concept. As noted in the article below, they have contracted with Zipline, a third-party drone delivery service to start deliveries in a limited area starting in 2024. Zipline seems to have a solid track record in the drone segment with “hundreds of thousands of deliveries”.
The question is….. Will Michigan Medicine be a trend setter?
NEWS FLASH: A press release today announced that Ohio Health Corp has just signed a deal with drone operator Zipline. Ohio Health is central Ohio’s largest health system is working with Zipline toward a launch in 2024. The first phase would be deliveries between OhioHealth facilities, with deliveries to as many as 2 million patients rolling out in 2025!
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Michigan Medicine will use drones to deliver prescriptions in 2024
Michigan Medicine announced March 15 they will be partnering with Zipline, an autonomous drone delivery service, to distribute prescription medications to some Washtenaw County patients’ homes in 2024.
The partnership aims to help deliver pharmaceuticals across the county and is projected to double Michigan Medicine’s prescription fulfillment. The partnership is a part of Michigan Medicine’s broader strategy to expand specialty pharmacy services, which provide medications to patients with complex diseases.
