The Ministry of Health and Welfare has started using drones to deliver medicine for the first time to ensure that people with chronic illnesses stuck at home due to recent heavy rains do not run out of medication.
Health departments that need to deliver emergency medicine to areas that are isolated due to damaged roads can apply to use the drone delivery system, Department of Information Management Director Lee Chien-chang (李建璋) said yesterday.
This would reduce risks for medical delivery personnel and ensure that people living in remote areas receive consistent treatment, Lee said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Health and Welfare
The Centers for Disease Control previously evaluated using drones to deliver vaccines or snake antivenom, Lee said.
Last year, his department cooperated with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Civil Aviation Administration to experiment with drone drug delivery in Hualien County, Lee said.
They conducted several successful flight tests to confirm the delivery method’s feasibility, he said.
Modern drones can be controlled through 4G and 5G wireless networks, even when they are beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight, Lee said.
Even if the connection is temporarily lost, drones can rely on autopilot to successfully complete their task, overcoming challenging terrain and demonstrating strong resilience and operational stability, he said.
Food and Drug Administration Director-General Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) said that in the event of disasters or emergencies, medical drone deliveries are not subject to a restriction in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act (藥事法) that pharmacists need to personally deliver medicine.
The law has been relaxed to fully support technological assistance in emergency medical care, Chiang said.
Lee said there are currently three to five drones conducting medical deliveries, each of which can carry up to 3kg.
The period after heavy rains when roads are blocked and awaiting repair is a good time for drones to deliver medicine, he said, adding that priority would be given to areas with high feasibility and urgency.
If there are nurses stationed in the area, the drone would first deliver the medicine to the nurse, who would then pass it on to the person in need, Lee said.
In areas without nurses, the drone would deliver the medicine directly to the specified location, and a pharmacist would explain how to use the medicine via video chat, he said.
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