Drones faster than ambulances at delivering drugs
Posted: 30 October 2019 | Victoria Rees (European Pharmaceutical Review) | No comments yet
A study has revealed that drones can deliver medications to patients faster than ambulances during rush hour in New York.
Research has found that drones are faster at delivering drugs than ambulances during peak rush hour in New York, US.
A study conducted, by the American Academy of Pediatrics, found that drones could be used as a response to emergency patient situations such as acute anaphylaxis, opiate overdose, asthma, cardiac arrest and sarin poisoning.
“Drones, when used appropriately, represent the ideal marriage between enhanced pre-hospital care and telemedicine for our future,” said Dr Mark Hanna, the author of the study’s abstract. “This may prove to be profound in the unique paediatric setting.”
The researchers compared data from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight information. The drone flight was found to be faster than an EMS ambulance within the urban area of Brooklyn.
Dr Hanna suggests that advances made by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have improved the possibilities for drug delivery using drones, but this is still a limited system and requires further analysis.
Related topics
Distribution & Logistics, Drug Supply Chain, QA/QC, Research & Development (R&D)
Related organisations
American Academy of Pediatrics, US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
