March 11, 2024- Zipline introduced its Platform 2 (P2) drone system in March 2023. It’s a next-generation aircraft designed to carry twice the weight of its Platform 1 system. The company’s drones have delivered whole blood, platelets, frozen plasma and cryoprecipitate along with medical products, including vaccines, infusions and common medical commodities for eight years while operating in seven countries.
Its P2 system is optimal for home deliveries, and multiple U.S. health systems nationwide are taking advantage of localized delivery to patients for medications and medical devices. Cleveland Clinic recently announced its plans to begin using drones to deliver certain medications to patients’ homes starting in 2025 with Zipline’s P2 system, which can complete precise deliveries to dense urban areas and completes a 10-mile delivery in about 10 minutes.
Cleveland Clinic’s plan for drones, docks and loading portals
Docks for the drones and loading portals will be added at several of Cleveland Clinic’s facilities in Northeast Ohio. After a drone is loaded with a prescription, it will autonomously undock, fly at 300 feet to a patient’s home and deploy an autonomous delivery droid that steers to the correct location and drops off its package to areas as small as a patio table or the front steps of a home. The drone will then fly back and dock itself.
Read More in the latest issue of The Journal of Healthcare Contracting.