Drones in healthcare, are they ready to fly?

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have rapidly evolved from predominantly military tools into promising assets for civilian and humanitarian applications, including healthcare.In recent years, UAVs have demonstrated the potential to transform healthcare logistics by overcoming geographical, infrastructural and timecritical barriers to the delivery of medical supplies.This paper reviews current and emerging applications of UAVs in healthcare, including the transport of blood and blood products, medications and vaccines, organs and tissues, chemotherapy, and automated external defibrillators.Drawing on international case studies, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, the UK and Europe, we highlight evidence of improved delivery times, reduced wastage, enhanced access to care and potential environmental benefits.Despite these successes, widespread implementation remains limited.We explore the key barriers to routine adoption, including regulatory complexity, safety and liability concerns, financial and infrastructural requirements, environmental trade-offs, and issues of professional and public acceptance.The paper argues that while UAV technology is increasingly mature, its integration into healthcare systems is highly context-dependent and requires coordinated, multi-stakeholder approaches.Policy reform, regulatory innovation, community engagement and further applied research will be essential to enable the safe, sustainable and scalable use of UAVs within healthcare logistics.