Drone delivery is moving from pilot projects into health system logistics plans, as large systems commit to networks that will carry prescriptions, lab specimens and supplies.
Cleveland-based Cleveland Clinic is already flying. In August, it began delivering certain medications to patients’ homes, which it described as the start of the first long-term deployment of a prescription drug drone delivery program by a U.S. health system. The service extends its home delivery pharmacy and runs out of its Beachwood, Ohio, administrative campus.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Advocate Health is planning the largest network. In March, it said it would operate the largest hospital-based drone delivery network in the U.S., starting in Charlotte in 2027 before expanding to Chicago and Milwaukee. The system expects to make more than 100,000 deliveries a year at full scope, covering prescriptions, labs and medical supplies.
Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare announced in July that it would build its own network, launching in late 2027 in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area. Under its model, a provider places an order into a Zipline Dropbox at a designated BayCare site, and the drone flies to a patient’s yard or another facility.
Tampa, Fla.-based Tampa General Hospital is applying the model to emergency care. It plans to launch what it says is the nation’s first emergency medical services-driven drone delivery program for whole blood.
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