Emergency medication transport by drones: Public survey in region 10

Klinikum Ingolstadt/ Quantum-Systems GmbH
© Klinikum Ingolstadt/ Quantum-Systems GmbH

To supply regional clinics with medicines by automated drones reliably and safely is the focus of the project "MEDinTime", which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport. One partner in the project is the district of Pfaffenhofen, on whose behalf the Chair of Service Management at the KU is now investigating the attitude of the population to this form of supply. For this purpose, all persons from Region 10 interested in taking part in an interview can now register online to make an appointment.

"Autonomous flying drones are a technology that citizens have had little contact with and tend to associate with science fiction. At this point, we want to throw light on technical facts and learn more about the attitudes of the population towards the issue," explains Hannes Fleischer, research associate at the Chair of Service Management. He adds that the region is home to several clinics that also have to ensure the availability of medications that are used rather infrequently. The use of autonomous drones between these clinics should be able to help in this respect. "In order to accustom citizens to the use of such technologies, we want to conduct one-hour interviews on their concerns, fears and the perceived opportunities."

In addition to transporting medicines, the project also aims at laying the groundwork for other areas of application, such as transporting medicines to disaster areas or rapidly transmitting samples to laboratories. The project consortium consists of experts from Ingolstadt Hospital, Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences THI, the district of Pfaffenhofen a. d. Ilm, and the Bavarian Red Cross – branch office, under the project management of the joint coordinator Quantum-Systems GmbH.

All persons wishing to take part, can register on the homepage of the Chair of  Service Management www.ku.de/med-in-time to take part in the survey (in German language only). For any questions, please contact Hannes Fleischer (research assistant at the Chair of Service Management at the KU; hannes.fleischer(at)ku.de).