Magellan Rx Management — which is the full-service pharmacy benefits management division of Magellan Health — and Zipline announced a partnership to deliver prescription medications, including specialty medications that treat chronic, complex conditions, directly to patients’ homes via autonomous aircraft (aka drones).
Why does it matter?
Magellan Rx will be the first pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) to deliver specialty and traditional medications through Zipline, which designs, manufactures and operates the world’s largest automated on-demand delivery service. 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.
On the record
“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.”
“Instant logistics can transform health outcomes for those that need it most,” said Keller Rinaudo, founder and CEO at Zipline. “With Magellan Rx Management, we’re working to reimagine the patient experience, bring care closer to home, and ultimately help patients treat and manage chronic and complex health conditions.”
The context
Magellan Rx Management is joining a growing number of organizations including health systems, governments, and leading global companies that are partnering with Zipline around the world. To date, Zipline has flown more than 16 million miles, completed over 235,000 commercial deliveries, and will soon operate in five countries. On average, Zipline makes a delivery once every four minutes.