What You Should Know:
– Today Magellan Rx Management, the full-service pharmacy benefits management division of Magellan Health, and Zipline, the global leader in instant logistics, announced their collaboration to deliver prescription medications, including specialty medications that treat chronic, complex conditions, directly to patients’ homes via autonomous aircraft beginning in 2022.
– The collaboration marks Magellan Rx as the first national pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to deliver specialty and traditional medications through Zipline’s drones, providing a consumer-centric approach to support patients on their healthcare journey.
Drone Prescription Delivery in As Little As 15 Mins
Initially, this option will be available to Magellan Rx members in the North Carolina service area and will provide a re-imagined consumer-centric approach to support patients on their healthcare journey. Magellan Rx expects to begin operations in 2022, pending approvals from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and will operate from Zipline’s existing distribution center in Kannapolis, North Carolina, which is capable of serving customers within 7,800 square miles. Through automated on-demand delivery, healthcare organizations and patients can receive the medications they need in as little as fifteen minutes.
“The team at Magellan Rx Management is thrilled to collaborate with Zipline and be the first PBM to deliver specialty and traditional medications via drone,” said Mostafa Kamal, chief executive officer at Magellan Rx Management. “For us, it is about challenging the status quo, and leveraging cutting edge technology to reimagine the ways in which we can improve access, care, and quality for individuals with complex and rare conditions who are often challenged with additional hurdles on their healthcare journey. Reliable, on-demand deliveries with Zipline help us advance our existing consumer-centric approach where patients can get the critical medications they need delivered, on their time, when they need them, right to their own homes.”
