Background

A crewless Aerial Vehicle (UAV), formally known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot. In technological terms, a drone is a remotely controlled flying robot. Another explanation would be a robot that flies autonomously owing to the software-controlled flight plans, fed into their embedded systems and working alongside the GPS and onboard sensors. The opening of the aviation market to the civil use of crewless aircraft has started a new era for aviation. Today, drones have many applications for non-militant use—for instance, photography, food delivery, postal delivery, media tools, etc.

Types of Drones

There are four types of drones

• • Multi-rotor
  • Fixed Wing
  • Single-Rotor
  • Fixed Wing Hybrid

Why is it essential to bring drone services to pharmacies?

• • Drone services have revolutionized essential drug delivery to rural communities and remote regions worldwide.
  • Drones are often the best way to ship products with the shortest transit time when road transportation is limited or congested or during a disease outbreak. 
  • Drones are the best solution in a natural disaster or improper roads. The pandemics have become the barriers for vehicles. In such situations, drones are good options for providing first aid to the infected people.  
  • Drones have been the saviors of pandemics like COVID-19. Drone services have helped speed up the delivery of patient samples to central labs for crucial tests. The service enabled physicians to make treatment decisions efficiently and augment patient outcomes. 
  • Evolving drone regulations allow the broad adoption of drones as a logistics solution to increase efficiency in the overall healthcare industry. 

How are drones assisting in pharmaceutical industries?

The introduction of drone services for pharmacies is a remarkable achievement. Medical representatives use drones to transport urgently required medicinal products, such as blood, medicines, vaccines, and other medical supplies, in remote and inaccessible areas. 

The pharmaceutical Industry mainly uses multi-rotor drones. Multi-rotor drones have great accessibility and are easy to use. It has VTOL, hover-flight, and reasonable camera control, and it can also operate in a confined area.

There are several reasons for using drone services for pharmacies:

• Drones can reach inaccessible places where trucks or other transport services cannot go.
• Drones can deliver medical supplies accurately and repeatedly in the fastest way compared to any other method.
• There are certain cases when it isn’t possible to rescue using a human-crewed aircraft. Reasons could be weather and other aviation issues. So, drones can come in handy in those circumstances.
• Drones have reduced the potential of life-threatening risks in human-crewed aircraft.
• Drones can potentially overcome logistic challenges as they can deliver despite traffic delays.
• Drones can provide lifesaving products in emergency cases. For instance, cases like snake bites, volcanic eruptions, pregnancy, insulin deliveries, and accidents.
• The drones can perfectly identify the place of the accident, the number of victims, and the scale of the event before the arrival of emergency services.

Real-life examples of Drones Services in Pharmacies

• In Rwanda (Africa), the zip line drones have flown over one million kilometers and performed over 13,000 blood deliveries, vaccines, and other medical supplements. Although the landscape of Rwanda is enormous. Due to being an underdeveloped country, the tracks are entirely off-road after a few kilometers outside the city, which ambulances cannot explore. So, they use zip line drones for almost all medical supplies. Outside Kigali, drones carry about 35% of blood supplies for transfusion.
• Papua New Guinea and Switzerland use automated drones with capacities of up to 2 kg, flying over 10 km within 18 minutes.
• In Ghana (West Africa), medical representatives delivered COVID-19 testing materials during the pandemic.
• In Germany, concerned companies successfully tested parcelcopter to provide blood samples across the Rhine River at Bonn (1 km).
• Drones have been crucial in successfully delivering lifesaving kits in the Dominican Republic during earthquakes.

Future of Drones Services in Pharmacies

The future of Drone services for Pharmacies is very bright. Due to technological advancement, new drone technology is in use now. In the upcoming decades, we will experience quality drones that we cannot predict today. 

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati invented a telehealth drone. It is equipped with cameras and a display screen, enabling two-way communication with the help of drone support. The drones could also carry samples or medication. Taking samples and medications could be a perfect solution for remote areas, anywhere in the world. The future of drones looks quite promising. 

According to research group Gartner, the drone market will grow in the next few years. Business insiders expect global shipments of drones to rise to 2.4 million by 2023- a 66.8% compound annual growth rate. In the next few years, we might see drone ambulances and other advancements in the field of healthcare industries. 

On the one hand, UAVs pose a threat to privacy and safety. However, the other belief suggests their potential to bring positive advancements outweighs the flip side. 

Conclusion

Although the pharmaceutical Industry is one of the leading industries in the healthcare sector, many technological advancements are still needed to increase its efficiency. However, drones are one of the most critical technologies that have changed the Healthcare sector. 

People in rural areas should be getting more benefits from drones. Before the technology of drones, they could not receive good quality medicines and doctors, but now they are getting better treatment. Similarly, drones significantly impact other areas of people, and these are the upsides of bringing drone services to Pharmacies.