Amazon Pharmacy has begun using drones to deliver medications in College Station, Texas, where it will be initially launched. Customers will get their prescription medications delivered right to their doorsteps within 60 minutes or less.
The drones utilize sense-and-avoid technology to navigate around obstacles along with a neural network and computer vision to identify impediments. It operates at an altitude ranging from 40 to 120 meters, delivering medications at impressive speeds. The initiative was a joint venture involving Amazon Clinic, Amazon’s 24/7 virtual care for 35 medical conditions, One Medical, Amazon’s primary care service; and Amazon Pharmacy service. Synchronously, patients receive a diagnosis for a condition and subsequently get their medication delivered via a drone within 60 minutes.
John Love, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, said of the ground-breaking health innovation:
“For decades, the customer experience has been to drive to a pharmacy with limited operating hours, stand in line, and have a public conversation about your health situation, or to wait five-to-10 days for traditional mail-order delivery. With Amazon Pharmacy, you can quickly get the medications you need—whether by drone or standard delivery—without having to miss soccer practice or leave work early.”
The recent Amazon technology marks an innovation in the health ecosystem and a paradigm shift in conventional modern medicine services and health delivery systems.
