Are drones the future of last-mile healthcare delivery?

Last-mile medical delivery systems in low-and middle-income countries are often inefficient, slow, and broken. Many public health facilities are in impassable hills, jungles, deserts, and flood-prone regions with no proper medical supplies. In India, over 12% of sub-centers and 8% of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) do not have all-weather roads. Population dependent on these health facilities is forced to go to district towns for treatment, incur high out-of-pocket expenditures, or forgo life-saving medical treatment. Lack of quick access to blood and other emergency medical products lead to many preventable deaths in India. Health outcomes of children, women and vulnerable, tribal, and rural populations are most affected.

Drones- viable tool for last-mile deliveries?

Drones are an excellent way to modernize the last mile in medical deliveries and make healthcare services accessible, affordable, and equitable. They offer a wide range of possibilities with ensuring timely delivery of blood supplies, health equipment, vaccines, medications, snake bite serum, and other medical supplies to remote areas.

Additionally, since some facilities have no provision to keep cold-chain products such as platelets or blood on-site, drones can ensure these supplies are available on demand. They can also be used for the transportation of biological samples like blood, plasma, and other tissues for diagnosis. Organ transport can also happen through drones during an emergency. Similarly, in the case of?cardiac arrest,?traumatic injuries, and other similar situations drones can be a better option. Drones can also be utilized to disinfect public areas thereby controlling the spread of viral diseases. During any natural calamity, drones are one of the best alternatives.

A study conducted by the European Heart Journal explored the use of drones for delivering automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to help save out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients. The study, published in August 2021, found “that AEDs can be carried by drones to real-life cases of OHCA with a successful AED delivery rate of 92%. There was a time benefit as compared to emergency medical services in cases where the drone arrived first.”

Real-life examples show promising results

The World Economic Forum’s ‘Medicine from the Sky’ Initiative is using drones to deliver vaccines and medicine to remote areas in India. Doctors Without Borders have tested them to help tackle tuberculosis in Papua New Guinea and Ebola in Liberia, and GAVI has used them to deliver vaccines in areas without the infrastructure for conventional delivery. With support from SAMRIDH, a healthcare blended financing facility, established by USAID, Redwing Labs has launched a pilot in India to deliver life-saving drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic devices quickly and affordably through their drones. In India, SKYEAIR has enabled hassle-free deliveries in remote locations with a wide web network of drones.

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Globally, several startups are conducting trial-run programs to commercially utilize drones. The leading companies include Zipline, Novant Health, Vayu, Matternet, SZ DJI Technology, Embention, Flirtey, Project Wing, and HiRO (Healthcare Integrated Rescue Operations).

Challenges on the way

Despite several benefits of drone technology, there are some challenges also. The challenges vary from low battery life to payload capacity as well as regulations. The lack of a robust communication system can also hamper the operations of the drone. Environmental factors such as humidity, rapid changes in pressure, and temperature also need to be considered while delivering critical medical products. Adverse weather conditions can also have an impact. One of the major challenges is also to establish the proof-of-principle in terms of a cost-benefit analysis.

In many countries, strict laws hamper the launch of drone delivery systems. Although in India, the adoption of drone technology has become easier after the liberalized Drone Rules, 2021, but with each country having different regulations, a streamlined process cannot be followed to operate drones. Additionally, as the delivery of medical supplies requires personal data, companies need to follow data security and compliance strictly to avoid a data breach.

Potential for revolutionary wide-scale impact

Although the use of drones in healthcare is at a nascent stage, it can help to ramp up national healthcare systems and connect hospitals and laboratories with patients, improving health outcomes. The proof of concept for healthcare delivery by drones is continually evolving but early pilot studies have shown that collaborations between government, humanitarian aid organizations, funders, and drone system partners can extend healthcare access in remote, underserved, and indigenous communities worldwide. Besides, drones can have a long-term impact on the reduction in carbon footprint by moving from conventional means of transport.

Though still in its infancy, the future of drone technology looks promising in terms of its acceptability and adaptability. Looking at the great potential this technology holds, new players might enter the market in the next few years with improvised, innovative, and advanced applications. However, it cannot be the answer to all problems and shouldn’t compensate for weak supply chain systems. Robust supply mechanisms must be built, and drone technology should lead the way for reaching inaccessible and far-flung terrains only. Judicious use of drones coupled with increased investment, and support from the government in terms of transparent guidelines and robust policies will be the leading factors for the adoption of drones in the future.?