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The healthcare industry is undergoing a significant technological evolution right now. Industry 4.0 is paving the way for streamlined and customer-friendly healthcare service offerings once ruled by provider-centric rules and guidelines. 

While everyone is quite familiar with big data and artificial intelligence, did you know that drones are also becoming fundamental working tools in this sector? Yes, these Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) options aren't only helping the security, surveillance, and energy sector, but they are also becoming quite a deal in the healthcare sector.

In fact, the SARS-COV-2 outbreak caused quite a hassle concerning drug distribution and sending medical supplies in the areas of distribution. Since then there have been a lot of talks about using this technology to ease and streamline the process. 

But how is it revolutionizing healthcare delivery systems? Let's find out below!

Drones and Their Use in Healthcare Delivery System

This advanced technology could be instrumental in providing patient care for people living at distant locations. Thus, allowing the population to get healthcare solutions as they age without worrying about traveling places. 

Some even believe that this technology could help providers keep tabs on patients living at home who cannot take care of themselves. Imagine a drone flying to the patient in a place with automated defibrillators as a part of the patient care module. A patient would no longer have to visit a particular location to obtain their medical supplies in such a case. 

Healthcare organizations are already considering using new-age smartphone technologies to solve healthcare issues faced by the industry nowadays. Wearable technology, remote monitoring, and telehealth services are already skyrocketing. The aim is to decrease errors and increase patient care outcomes without costing millions of dollars.

But how will drones enable a better healthcare delivery system?

Global leaders predict that this technology can be helpful in the following ways. Please keep reading to know more about it!

Drone ambulance

Whether it's a road accident, heart failure, or trauma, a quick response is crucial to increase the chances of survival. However, poor or clogged roads often delay the emergency response time. However, automated technological responses like AEDs, CPR, and other medications carried by a drone can quickly reduce patient deaths in such circumstances. One of the universities in the Netherlands is working towards this futuristic approach that can completely revolutionize emergency care.

Organ Transplantation:

The healthcare providers who run organ donation or transplantation programs understand that timing is the key to successful transplantation. This is why providers are looking to use this technology to reduce any delays in the arrival of the organs. In fact, the University of Maryland Medical Center did their first-ever kidney transplantation that was delivered by a drone. The specially engineered it for organ delivery. 

Blood/ Blood Products Transportation:

The typical delivery model is usually road transport, especially in countries like India. However, this often results in delays or unexpected setbacks. Despite a network of blood banks, sometimes one is unable to find rare blood groups. But countries like Rwanda are using drones to transport urgent blood supplies to remote hospitals. Thus, reducing spoilage or wastage by more than 95%. 

Medicine delivery:

Drones could be beneficial in delivering life-saving drugs in remote locations. For instance, Apollo pharmacy could leverage drone technology to provide their services in places that aren't feasible through other means of transportation. In fact, QuiQui is rolling out Beta invites for drone-equipped medicine delivery. They will be charging $1 as delivery charges. 

Disaster Relief:

Sites, where uncontrollable fires, biological hazards, or chemical spills are usually inaccessible for human interventions can use drone technology to strategize an emergency response. 

Disease control:

This technology could help with studying or predicting disease outbreaks. For instance, epidemiologists can map disease outbreaks and help providers deploy preventive measures. For example, Microsoft is already working with a professor on developing mosquito traps using drone technology. This could be beneficial for mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue, Malaria, or Zika.

In short, this technology could be beneficial in addressing unmet needs. And while doing so could help streamline the workflows more efficiently. 

Did you know that the Indian aviation ministry announced that the use of drones would no longer be illegal? All you have to do is register this equipment. The authorities might introduce regulations to boost the economy using this technology. 

For example, The Vital Intelligence Project in Australia uses this technology to monitor people for signs of the virus. In this, a Canadian company Draganfly developed a technology for drones to detect respiratory conditions. However, there isn’t any news about the effectiveness of this project yet. But there is hope that it will be beneficial in the foreseeable future. 

Final Takeaways

Drones are pretty standard nowadays for a variety of purposes. In fact, Amazon already announced that they might use this technology to deliver packages to their customers. While this is quite intriguing and might result in consequences, the future is bright. 

But is it beneficial or not? Time will tell. However, the use of this technology to improve safety or healthcare service delivery is still in progress. The rapid delivery of this technology could be pretty beneficial for infectious disease outbreaks. This could be a fantastic option where road or air transport services can’t reach for various reasons. 

And that’s not all! One could expect its use for small-scale healthcare delivery services as well. For instance, nurses or pharmacists could use it to provide medical supplies to patients in the comfort of their homes. One could use the same in a hospital setting as well. It will make it easier and safer since nurses and staff can efficiently use their time dealing with emergencies.

However, it’s still a start! One has to consider legal grounds and regulations when it comes to authorization of this technology. The hacking and other issues related to trespassing also need to be figured out. 

Otherwise, if it comes into practice at a large scale level, it will completely transform the healthcare landscape like never before.