Six places where drones are delivering medicines

Snouffer, Elizabeth

doi:10.1038/d41591-022-00053-9

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Consistent with the research findings of Yoo and Chankov (2018), the speed of drone delivery technology ensures that essential lifesaving medications get to patients within a short time as compared to existing traditional modes of delivery. Snouffer (2022) established that when drone delivery resources are sufficient and available, it results in the availability of essential medical supplies to last-mile healthcare facilities since patient waiting time is significantly reduced. Furthermore, this study is one of the first studies to investigate the impact of Zipline's drone delivery service on the operations of last-mile healthcare facilities in Ghana.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measurement items for assessing drone delivery resources were adopted from Coccia and Watts (2020) and Kornatowski et al (2018). Commodity delivery lead-time, availability of essential medicines, patient waiting time and outpatient services were all conceptualised as part of the operations of last-mile healthcare facilities (Lin et al, 2018;Snouffer, 2022).…”

Section: Conceptualisation and Operationalisation Of Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shortening The Last-Mile: Impact of Zipline Medical Drone Delivery on The Operations of Hard-to-Reach Healthcare Facilities in Northern Ghana.

Atiga,

Tanzubil,

Asaana

et al. 2024

AJAR

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Purpose: This research study investigated the impact of Zipline Medical Drone Delivery on the operations of last-mile healthcare facilities in northern Ghana. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research study adopted an exploratory research design to determine the impact of Zipline’s medical drone delivery on the operations of last-mile healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana. An online survey questionnaire was deployed to collect quantitative data from 159 trained employees of last-mile health facilities who were selected through a purposive sampling technique from last-mile drone-served healthcare facilities. Findings: The study established that drone delivery speed, logistics efficiency and availability of drone delivery resources significantly impacted zipline delivery of medical commodities to last-mile public healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana, reducing commodity delivery lead-time and improving access to essential healthcare supplies for efficient service delivery. Research Limitation/Implications: This research focused mainly on the impact of drone delivery of medical commodities on the operations of last-mile public healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana. Practical Implications: The results of this study show that by enhancing drone delivery speed, logistics efficiency and drone resource availability, the operations of public healthcare facilities can be improved by ensuring that essential medicines are made available, patient waiting time is significantly reduced and outpatient services are improved. Social Implication: The study recommends the establishment of a Zipline-Administrators partnership which will eventually result in a reduction of medical commodity lead-time, improved accessibility of patients to essential health commodity supplies and general cost savings to the community. Originality/Value/Novelty: Although drone technology has been the subject of numerous studies in Ghana, none has investigated the impact of medical commodity drone delivery services on the operations of last-mile healthcare facilities in Northern Ghana. This study therefore explored the impact of drone delivery services from the last-mile healthcare facilities’ perspective.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conceptualisation and Operationalisation Of Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shortening The Last-Mile: Impact of Zipline Medical Drone Delivery on The Operations of Hard-to-Reach Healthcare Facilities in Northern Ghana.

Atiga,

Tanzubil,

Asaana

et al. 2024

AJAR

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“…This approach has assisted areas affected by natural disasters, unexpected accidents in difficult access areas, urban contexts, and the COVID-19 pandemic. They can also combine features for surveying damaged areas or identifying mosquito breeding sites remotely [ 32 , 33 ]. Regarding leadership and governance, eHealth has supported governments in improving data exchange and quality of care by using digital technology management systems.…”

Section: Case Study Analysis Of Ehealth In Low-resource Primary Care ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

SERIES: eHealth in primary care. Part 6: Global perspectives: Learning from eHealth for low-resource primary care settings and across high-, middle- and low-income countries

Rakers,

van de Vijver,

Bossio

et al. 2023

European Journal of General Practice

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Background eHealth offers opportunities to improve health and healthcare systems and overcome primary care challenges in low-resource settings (LRS). LRS has been typically associated with low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), but they can be found in high-income countries (HIC) when human, physical or financial resources are constrained. Adopting a concept of LRS that applies to LMIC and HIC can facilitate knowledge interchange between eHealth initiatives while improving healthcare provision for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups across the globe. Objectives To outline the contributions and challenges of eHealth in low-resource primary care settings. Strategy We adopt a socio-ecological understanding of LRS, making LRS relevant to LMIC and HIC. To assess the potential of eHealth in primary care settings, we discuss four case studies according to the WHO ‘building blocks for strengthening healthcare systems’. Results and discussion The case studies illustrate eHealth’s potential to improve the provision of healthcare by i) improving the delivery of healthcare (using AI-generated chats); ii) supporting the workforce (using telemedicine platforms); iii) strengthening the healthcare information system (through patient-centred healthcare information systems), and iv) improving system-related elements of healthcare (through a mobile health financing platform). Nevertheless, we found that development and implementation are hindered by user-related, technical, financial, regulatory and evaluation challenges. We formulated six recommendations to help anticipate or overcome these challenges: 1) evaluate eHealth’s appropriateness, 2) know the end users, 3) establish evaluation methods, 4) prioritise the human component, 5) profit from collaborations, ensure sustainable financing and local ownership, 6) and contextualise and evaluate the implementation strategies.

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“…Vanuatu’s vaccine supply chain is unreliable due to its warm temperatures, mountains, and limited road infrastructure [ 23 ]. In Malawi, Swoop Aero drones are also being used to deliver malaria, tuberculosis, rotavirus, polio, and COVID-19 vaccines to remote communities, using AVC-24 WHO-certified vaccine carriers to maintain the proper temperature during flights [ 24 , 25 ]. VillageReach, a global health non-profit, has partnered with the public and private sectors to integrate drones into health supply chains in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Drones to Deliver Rift Valley Fever Vaccines in Rwanda: Perceptions and Recommendations

et al. 2023

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Given the recent emergence of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) in Rwanda and its profound impact on livelihoods and health, improving RVF prevention and control strategies is crucial. Vaccinating livestock is one of the most sustainable strategies to mitigate the impact of RVF on health and livelihoods. However, vaccine supply chain constraints severely limit the effectiveness of vaccination programs. In the human health sector, unmanned aerial vehicles, i.e., drones, are increasingly used to improve supply chains and last-mile vaccine delivery. We investigated perceptions of whether delivering RVF vaccines by drone in Rwanda might help to overcome logistical constraints in the vaccine supply chain. We conducted semi-structured interviews with stakeholders in the animal health sector and Zipline employees in Nyagatare District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. We used content analysis to identify key themes. We found that stakeholders in the animal health sector and Zipline employees believe that drones could improve RVF vaccination in Nyagatare. The primary benefits study participants identified included decreased transportation time, improved cold chain maintenance, and cost savings.

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Six places where drones are delivering medicines

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Shortening The Last-Mile: Impact of Zipline Medical Drone Delivery on The Operations of Hard-to-Reach Healthcare Facilities in Northern Ghana.

Shortening The Last-Mile: Impact of Zipline Medical Drone Delivery on The Operations of Hard-to-Reach Healthcare Facilities in Northern Ghana.

SERIES: eHealth in primary care. Part 6: Global perspectives: Learning from eHealth for low-resource primary care settings and across high-, middle- and low-income countries

The Use of Drones to Deliver Rift Valley Fever Vaccines in Rwanda: Perceptions and Recommendations

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