It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s…a prescription? According to a recent Mahoning Matters article, the Cleveland Clinic plans to introduce a drone delivery service for prescription medications in 2025. The service will initially cater to patients in Northeast Ohio, delivering specialty medicines and prescriptions. The drones will use Zipline's Platform 2 system, capable of precise deliveries in urban areas and completing a 10-mile delivery in about 10 minutes. Docks and loading portals will be installed at several clinic facilities, and when a prescription is ready, a technician will load the drone, which will autonomously fly to a patient's home, deploy an autonomous delivery droid to drop off the package, and return to dock itself.
The program could eventually expand to deliver lab samples, prescription meals, medical supplies, and items for “hospital-at-home” services. Safety measures include preflight inspections and real-time monitoring by operations teams. The initiative aims to provide more efficient and eco-friendly prescription deliveries, enhancing access to medications in the community.
