COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — In an effort to speed up deliveries of medications, lab work, and supplies, OhioHealth announced they’ll be using drones.

The healthcare company based in Columbus announced they are partnering with Zipline to develop a drone delivery system to bring prescriptions to people’s homes and move lab samples and supplies between OhioHealth facilities. The target date to launch the system is 2025 with an estimation of the drone network being able to reach two million people.

“Zipline drone delivery provides a great alternative for OhioHealth as we look to grow our home infusion and specialty pharmacy home delivery services. It gets products to patients more quickly and at a lower cost, and uses less carbon-intensive packing materials compared to our traditional delivery methods,” said OhioHealth Vice President of Pharmacy Services Charles McCluskey III.

  • A Zipline Platform 2 drone parks to drop goods outside of a home in a simulated delivery. (Courtesy Photo/Zipline)
  • Zipline’s Platform 2 model of drone delivery, which can use chutes to drop products indoors. (Courtesy Photo/Zipline)
  • (Courtesy Photo/Zipline)

The technology OhioHealth said they would use is Zipline’s Platform 2, which uses autonomous, electric drones that fly quietly at more than 300 feet above the ground and can provide “ultraprecise deliveries to rural, suburban, and even dense urban areas across the region.” The drones feature a secondary unit that can be lowered by wire or dropped into chutes to deliver their cargo. OhioHealth cites recent research from the University of Pennsylvania that says there is an 88% reduction of “in-hospital maternal deaths from to postpartum hemorrhage” as a result of the delivery service.

Outside of delivering medications, OhioHealth will plan on using the drone service to help with research. “We’re able to move lab samples between facilities in minutes and at a moment’s notice, instead of the hours it can currently take. That time savings is invaluable at every stage of the healthcare journey and can mean that people get diagnosed and treated faster, leading to better health outcomes,” said Hillary Brendzel, Head of Zipline’s U.S. Healthcare Practice.

“Our service is sustainable, reliable, and already proven to improve people’s health and save lives. It’s designed to be so quiet that it blends into the background of life. We’re thrilled to partner with OhioHealth on bringing our innovations to the people they serve across the state.”