Michigan Medicine to start drone delivery service for patient prescriptions in 2024
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Michigan Medicine announced it will use Zipline's new drone delivery service to bring prescriptions to residents throughout Washtenaw County in 2024.
The delivery service will use Zipline's program, which uses autonomous electric drones, to make quick and quiet deliveries to rural, suburban and dense urban areas.
Zipline says the drones can fly during the day, at night, and through all types of weather.
According to Michigan Medicine, the service can deliver to places as small as a patio table and is expected to complete 10-mile deliveries in approximately 10 minutes.
The partnership between Michigan Medicine and Zipline will help the healthcare system expand pharmacy services to patients. Once this program launches, they plan to more than double the number of prescriptions it fills in a year through the in-house pharmacy.
"By deploying Zipline, we are able to make deliveries faster than ever before, saving time for both patients and our medical workers, enabling faster, affordable pharmacy care that leads to better patient outcomes," said Marschall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Michigan Medicine, dean of the University of Michigan Medical School and executive vice president of medical affairs for the University of Michigan. "We are always looking for innovative, sustainable improvements to serve our patients. We're thrilled to soon provide the next frontier of care to our patients with Zipline."
This will also allow patients and healthcare professionals to track the prescription packages in real-time to know the delivery time down to the second. Packages will be tracked through Zipline's app or website.
"Together with Michigan Medicine, we are improving the healthcare experience by bringing prescriptions and medical needs right to patients' doorsteps. With Zipline, getting prescriptions will be faster, more convenient and more sustainable than ever before," said Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, CEO and co-founder of Zipline.
