Transforming healthcare logistics and evaluating current use cases of UAVs (drones) as a method of transportation in healthcare to generate recommendations for the NHS to use drone technology at scale: a narrative review

Abstract

Drones have been pioneered and used in the military, however, only recently non-military drones have been introduced. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into focus the potential value of drones in moving medical supplies. With the onset of social distancing policies and quarantine regulations, the efficiency of traditional logistics systems has been limited. Several companies have recently accelerated their development in this domain, conducting pilot projects at pace, paving the way for the future of the medical logistics supply chain. In this review, we examine both narrative and grey literature for in and out of hospital settings, in order to describe the current state of drone technology in healthcare around the world and some of the most cutting-edge examples of how drones can benefits patients, clinicians and the wider public. We investigate the economic viability and barriers to adopting drones at scale which include regulatory hurdles, public perception and safety of drone technologies, and propose how to overcome these challenges. Further work should look at quantifying the impact and outcomes of how such a service could impact the health outcomes of patients and clinical efficiency. This review aims to equip the National Health Service and more broadly other healthcare systems around the world with the tools to embrace and implement this novel and upcoming technology.