EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW
What Can Drones Do For You? Drone technology and the healthcare supply chain
The healthcare supply chain moves with a sense of urgency. Unfortunately,
can carry medical payloads weighing up
sometimes shipments are at the mercy of ground transportation delays.
to 4.4 pounds over distances of up to
But what if there was a way to make critical deliveries without the worries of traffic jams or a shortage of vehicles? What if hospitals and health systems could ship and re-
12 miles. Throughout the drone delivery
ceive lab samples at a quicker pace, thus receiving faster results? What if sensitive cancer
program, a medical professional will
treatment supplies could be delivered without the worry of delay?
pack and secure a drone payload container with a medical sample or specimen – such as a blood sample – at one
The technology already exists. Supply
at WakeMed’s flagship hospital and cam-
of WakeMed’s nearby facilities. The
pus in the Raleigh, N.C., metropolitan
medical professional hands the payload
area, with oversight by the Federal Avia-
container to a UPS Flight Forward
groundbreaking new logistics service to
tion Administration and North Carolina
operator who weighs the box and car-
deliver medical samples via unmanned
Department of Transportation.
ries it to a specially designated takeoff
chain leaders need only look to the sky. In March of 2019, UPS announced a
drones through a collaboration with
The program will utilize Matternet’s
and landing location outside the facility.
Matternet, a leader in autonomous drone
M2 quadcopter, which is powered by
The drone will autonomously fly along
technology. The program is taking place
a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and
a predetermined flight path, monitored by a specially trained Remote Pilot-inCommand (RPIC), to a fixed landing pad at WakeMed’s main hospital and central pathology lab. This will be an ongoing program at WakeMed, and UPS and Matternet will use the learnings to consider how drones can be applied to improve transport services at other hospitals and medical facilities across the U.S. The Journal of Healthcare Contracting asked Kevin Wasik, head of business development, UPS Flight Forward, for insights into drone technology, its uses, and how it is entering the healthcare field. The Journal of Healthcare Contracting: How did UPS get started in drone delivery? Why the decision to explore this technology?
4
October 2020 | The Journal of Healthcare Contracting
