Grassroots Support: Top Public Hospital Launches Drone Delivery of Drugs, Testing Samples

To better support grassroots medical care, China's first drone delivery route between a top-tier public hospital and community health centers successfully completed its inaugural flight in Shanghai on Thursday.

The drone took less than 10 minutes to transport medications from Fudan University's Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital to the Dapuqiao Neighborhood Health Center. This service primarily focuses on drugs requiring cold-chain storage or those in urgent demand.

By taking to the sky, the deliveries avoid potential road delays caused by traffic congestion, summer heat, and the high costs associated with frequent, small-batch ground transportation. In response to local health authority's policies optimizing the distribution of medical resources, the ENT Hospital has launched this drone network to serve 56 partner institutions across the city – including 17 community health centers – to streamline patient care and allow residents to access top-hospital resources closer to home.

Previously, drug transfers from a leading hospital to neighborhood centers could take up to a maximum 24 hours. The new method reduces that time, sometimes to just within 5 to 10 minutes. Each drone is equipped with a thermostat to ensure the quality of temperature-sensitive medicines, all at a lower operational cost, providing patients with an economical and efficient way to receive specialized medication.

"The current service operates on a fixed-schedule, fixed-location model. In the near future, we plan to upgrade to an intelligent delivery network capable of high-frequency, rapid response," said Dr Zhou Xingtao, president of the ENT Hospital. "We will also expand the service to more community health centers, broaden the list of deliverable drugs, and extend delivery items from medicines to medical test samples – helping to shorten diagnosis wait times."

Shanghai is refining a tiered healthcare system to encourage the use of local medical facilities. Under this system, community health centers receive outpatient quotas from leading hospitals for complex cases, and a streamlined referral process ensures critical patients are sent to senior hospitals while stable cases are managed locally.

Patients can now also access online follow-up consultations with experts from top hospitals directly at their neighborhood health center. These centers can receive special medications delivered from top hospitals, eliminating the need for patients to travel long distances solely for prescriptions. In addition, leading specialists regularly hold consultations at community health centers, further enhancing local care quality.