Intermountain Healthcare is partnering with Zipline, a California-based logistics company, to create a drone-based delivery service.
Allison Corry with Intermountain Healthcare says that the company is in a pilot phase with Zipline on making this dream a reality. Rather than having the patient population served through couriers and outsource delivery partners, this drone-based method will have pharmaceuticals go to a distribution site and then flown directly to a patient’s home.
Stefanie Krieger with Zipline says that patients could expect their deliveries within 15 minutes or anytime they choose as the drone process is much more time-efficient. Krieger also says that this method will be more active with the patient’s needs, as they’ll receive a text message when the drone is launched and will be able to track it until the package is delivered.
One of the catches of this delivery is that the patient will need to be home at the time of delivery.
Zipline says that several test flights are still being performed and they have already started to make deliveries to select Intermountain Healthcare patients in Salt Lake Valley. The company’s goal is that within five years, the drone delivery service can serve well over a million residents.
