How Northwestern Medicine Uses Drones to Redefine Patient Care
Pilot Project Saves 118 Hours Over 3 Months
Drones are often associated with stunning aerial photography. Throughout the 2010s, the use of drones expanded rapidly, including testing in healthcare applications.
On the brink of expanded regulations, drones’ ability to improve efficiency in health care is being realized and scaled at a broader level. Northwestern Medicine is testing their use to transport medical specimens, resulting in better patient care.
Northwestern Medicine Turns to Drones for Lab Specimen Delivery
One example is Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital campus. A Northwestern Medicine cancer center is located on the same campus, but it’s walking distance from the main hospital building.
Northwestern Medicine collaborated with Valqari, a Lombard-based leader in drone deliveries to set up two drone stations within line of sight on the Delnor Hospital campus to test the drone delivery service between Delnor Cancer Center and the hospital lab. This makes Delnor Hospital one of the first hospitals in the United States to test drones for inter-site deliveries.
On-Demand Drone Delivery Saves Time
Testing demonstrated a safe track record over the three-month period.
Additional flight results:
98.4%
success rate for 244 total flights
100%
success rate for 82 flights with real-life use case delivery
Traditionally, most deliveries on the Delnor Hospital campus are made during four scheduled courier trips per day. However, for an on-demand delivery, a clinician would have to walk across the campus, sometimes more than 40 times a month.
When using the drones, there was a faster turnaround time for processing.
“Having the drones make deliveries helps because it keeps me at the chairside with my patients,” says Kristen Goldsmith, RN, oncology infusion nurse at Delnor Cancer Center. “In the cancer center, treatment decisions are based on bloodwork, so with this on-demand option, we are able to expedite care, and the quicker turnaround time takes some stress off of our patients who are anxiously awaiting their results.”
The on-demand delivery option also provides a safety guard for emergency situations. In equipment down times, the specimens can be rerouted to another location using the drones — ensuring that the lab team’s work isn’t disrupted.
Having the drones make deliveries helps because it keeps me at the chairside with my patients
Kristen Goldsmith, RN, Oncology infusion nurse at Delnor Cancer Center
Potential of Drones for Other Uses
Drone technology comes with its unique challenges. Under current FAA regulations, drones must be kept within a visual line of sight during the entire flight. Additionally, they cannot be operated within the city of Chicago or within five miles of an airport.
However, these regulations are expected to change.
“If proven feasible, drone delivery has the potential to create an on-demand option that doesn’t require staff to walk across campus, keeping our caregivers doing what they do best — providing world-class patient care,” says Sylvester Dazzo, vice president of Administration, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare.
Northwestern Medicine remains committed to finding and activating internal and external innovative solutions for challenges affecting patients and care teams today. The integration of drones could hold even more promise, especially in remote areas.
“If this project continues to validate drones as a safe and quick delivery option, we’ll explore where else in the health system drones may be beneficial,” says Dazzo. “We are particularly interested in how drones can potentially improve treatment times at our rural locations by providing a fast, efficient delivery option where one doesn’t currently exist.”
They could also be helpful enhancing security across Northwestern Medicine campuses as well.
...Drone delivery has the potential to create an on-demand option... keeping our caregivers doing what they do best
Sylvester Dazzo, Vice president of Administration, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
