Atrium Health to Launch Medical Drone Delivery Program in Charlotte

Advocate Health, parent company to Atrium Health, announced Thursday that the Charlotte market will serve as the launching pad for its new drone delivery network, with plans to make it the largest hospital-based program in the country. 

Beginning in the Charlotte market in 2027, Advocate Health will drone-deliver prescriptions, labs and medical supplies, according to a release from the company, with a goal of “transforming how many of its patients receive prescriptions and home health supplies, while also reducing turnaround time for lab results, which are vital to timely diagnosis and treatment.”  

Advocate, which is headquartered in Charlotte after its 2022 merger with Atrium, will partner with drone-delivery company Zipline to carry out the new program. After the Charlotte launch, the service will expand to Chicago and Milwaukee markets, eventually carrying out more than 100,000 deliveries a year in its three markets, according to Thursday’s release.  

There are also plans to deploy the technology in Georgia as Advocate Health continues its efforts increasing access to health care for rural health.

“Advocate Health is rewiring care delivery by implementing drone technology to deliver medication and health supplies,” stated Collin Lane, Advocate Health’s executive vice president of professional and support services. “This technology will ensure patients not only have the prescriptions and supplies they need, but have them delivered right to their doorsteps, and during a time when their local pharmacy may have closed.”

The new drone network will also allow for swifter transport of specimens between hospitals and labs within each market, resulting in quicker results for patients, Lane explained. 

“Zipline will help Advocate Health get patients what they need fast and reliably, even at home. It’s the clearest sign yet that hospital-based drone delivery is a new cornerstone of how health systems serve their communities,” said Hillary Brendzel, managing director of US markets for Zipline. “Faster deliveries of medications and supplies mean a better experience for patients across Advocate Health’s regions.”

The delivery process starts when a prescription, lab specimen, medical supply or some other order is picked up by a Zipline drone at an Advocate Health site. Zipline’s electric drone will then fly to its destination — whether a patient’s yard or another Advocate Health facility — and remain up to 300 feet in the air while a pod on a tether with the order inside descends to the ground. 

The pod makes precise deliveries even in high-wind and bad weather conditions, Thursday’s release claimed, leaving the order behind while it flies back to charge for its next delivery. 

UPDATE: Queen City Nerve has learned that Advocate is working with Zipline in the lead-up to the launch to prioritize patients’ privacy and ensure that prescription packages are controlled and delivered solely to the patient they are intended for. 

Zipline’s aircraft operate with the approval of the FAA and are designed to minimize sound and human interactions by keeping the aircraft far away from people and physical obstacles. 

Founded in 2014 to deliver blood in Rwanda, the company currently operates on four continents and has made more than 2 million commercial deliveries. Its website lists Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and the Dallas-Forth Worth area as the two American locations where it operates, delivering orders from Walmart and various restaurants. 

Zipline announced this week that it had raised another $200 million to fund its expansion in the United States.