Amazon Testing Drone Deliveries for Pharmacy Drugs

In recent years, we’ve gotten used to the convenience of having packages from Amazon delivered by mail in two days or less. With its latest move, the e-commerce conglomerate will help save you a trip to the pharmacy. 

Eligible Amazon customers in College Station, TX will be able to get their prescriptions delivered by drone as part of a new pilot program the company just launched. The new service gets people their drugs faster than ordering anything else on the site; they can get their prescriptions delivered to their doorstep within an hour of placing their order. 

It’s a simple flight process. The drone departs from a delivery center equipped with a pharmacy to the customer’s address, descends to a height of about 13 feet above the ground, and drops a padded package for them to pick up. 

Customers will be able to choose from more than 500 medications to have conveniently delivered. Controlled substances aren’t allowed, but you can get anything that’s used to treat conditions like the flu or pneumonia. 

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It’s an expansion of Amazon Prime‘s existing business of delivering some medications from the company’s pharmacy within two days of placing an order. Pharmacy Vice President John Love said that the inclusion of drones in drug delivery is a logical step considering some acute illnesses like the flu don’t wait two business days to start afflicting people. “What we’re trying to do is figure out how can we bend the curve on speed,” he said, per The Associated Press.

If you live nearby, consider yourself lucky the next time you get sick.