Amazon begins delivering medications by drone in Texas
Amazon Pharmacy customers located in College Station, Texas, can now have their prescription medications delivered by drone, the company announced in a blog post Wednesday.
A drone will deliver more than 500 medications, including treatments for common conditions like asthma and the flu, to eligible customers. According to Amazon, the medication will arrive in less than 60 minutes at no additional charge.
Patients can access Amazon Pharmacy online, which offers a full range of pharmacy services. Following its acquisition of PillPack in 2018, Amazon launched the service in 2020. Prime members have been offered prescription perks and savings benefits by Amazon Pharmacy this year as a way to entice new customers.
According to Amazon, its drones are equipped with cameras that can identify things like people and animals. According to the company, drones fly between 40 meters and 120 meters in an airspace with “minimal obstacles.”
A drone will release the package containing the customer’s medication once it determines that the delivery space is clear. Nevertheless, if the drone detects obstacles in the delivery area, it will return to the Amazon fulfillment center and attempt the delivery again later.
Customers in College Station, Texas, must sign up for Prime Air and complete a yard survey in order to receive drone deliveries.
In the past few years, Amazon has attempted to use drones for delivery, but its efforts have met with mixed results. A number of Amazon employees were laid off as part of Andy Jassy’s sweeping layoffs in August, including two executives who were key to Amazon’s drone delivery operations.
In spite of internal changes at Amazon, the company said it has successfully delivered “hundreds of household items” to consumers in College Station.