A major hospital in Shanghai has completed a drone-based medicine delivery to a community health center.

This has significantly reduced delivery time and is believed to mark the country's first low-altitude delivery service linking a tertiary hospital, the highest level in China's three-tier hospital system, with a community clinic.

The Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University launched the drone delivery service on the morning of Jan 8, transporting its self-developed myopia control solutions to the Dapuqiao community health service center in Huangpu district.

After taking off from the hospital, the drone ascended to a height of 150 meters, followed a pre-approved route, and reached its destination within minutes.

The initiative forms part of Shanghai's broader push to advance tiered healthcare, an approach aimed at improving access to high-quality medical resources at the community level and easing pressure on major hospitals.

"In the past, self-prepared solutions could be delivered to some communities through traditional distribution methods, which took over 24 hours," said Xie Shirong, director of outpatient and internet medical services at the Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University.

"Given the limited shelf life of these solutions, improving delivery efficiency was crucial. Now, drones have dramatically reduced this time to just 5 to 10 minutes," said Xie.

Looking ahead, the hospital plans to scale up the service to reduce costs, especially for urgently-needed or temperature-sensitive medicines. It is also considering expanding the service to more communities and incorporating additional items such as laboratory samples from community clinics, which could further shorten diagnosis time.

Source: Jiefang Daily