Huadong promotes medical drone logistics to respond to natural disasters and long-term needs

[Reporter Wang Jinyi/Hualien Report] Huadong has a long and narrow terrain, from mountain tribes to Green Island and Orchid Island. The distribution of medical supplies is often affected by distance and weather. Once an earthquake, typhoon or heavy rain occurs, roads may be interrupted and boat flights may be suspended, affecting people's access to medical supplies. The Eastern District Holistic Promotion Committee recently held the "Eastern District Medical Drone Logistics Innovation Exchange for Rural Areas" at the Yangyuemeidi Resort Hotel. It was co-organized by Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital and Jixian Technology. Representatives from the fields of health care, sanitation, medical treatment and technology were invited to take stock of the needs of rural areas, mountainous areas and outlying islands, and conduct a real-life flight demonstration of medical drones.

Chen Xingzhu, deputy CEO of the East District Holistic Promotion Committee and deputy director of Hualien Charity Hospital, said that Huadong's promotion of medical drones not only responds to traffic disruptions caused by natural disasters, but also faces the long-term impact of low birthrate and logistics shortages. In the initial stage, priority will be given to supporting emergency medical needs, including medicines, anti-venom serum, automated external electrodefibrillators (AED) and other emergency supplies. The second stage will promote the routineization of daily logistics, consolidate the distribution needs of different medical institutions and regions, and plan normal routes, take-off and landing points, and scheduling methods.

Hualien Charity Hospital’s investment in medical drones stems from the tests brought about by disasters. Zhang Jingyu, executive secretary of the Eastern District Holistic Promotion Committee and director of the Hualien Charity Hospital Medical Office, recalled that the 0403 Hualien earthquake in 2024 caused roads in the Tianxiang area to be interrupted, making it impossible for vehicles to enter, and the delivery of medicines and medical supplies could not be stopped. Therefore, the team established a drone application system, solicited support through the Presidents Cup Hackathon and Healthy Taiwan-related projects to carry out test flights, and took stock of high-risk routes from Xiulin Township Office to Tianxiang, Fengbin Township and Chimei Tribe.

During the Matai'an River barrier lake overflow disaster last year, some residents of Guangfu Township were placed in shelters and unable to go to medical stations. The Hualien Charity Hospital first confirmed the medication needs through remote video, completed the doctor's prescription and pharmacist's dispensing, and then used drones to deliver the drugs to the disaster area. Finally, local medical staff handed them over to the public, completing the complete process from consultation, dispensing to medication delivery.

Zhang Jingyu pointed out that medical drones not only put supplies on the plane, but also include demand application, route arrangement, cold chain management, flight monitoring and receipt confirmation. If operated by individual hospitals alone, the burden of equipment maintenance and labor costs will be heavy. Therefore, it is hoped to establish a joint dispatching and scheduling mechanism based on the needs of each medical institution and health center.

In order to meet the needs of long-distance and cross-sea transportation in Huadong, vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing drones were displayed at the exchange meeting. Jixian Technology CEO Xu Weicheng explained that in addition to taking off and landing from the ground, the new model can also take off and land directly from the window. It has a maximum range of 120 kilometers and a speed of about 100 to 120 kilometers per hour. It can currently carry about 3 to 5 kilograms of materials. The system can automatically take off and land, charge and accept remote monitoring. Satellite communications can also be used as backup in cross-sea and remote areas. The transport box is equipped with cold chain temperature control and can transport medicines, blood products, medical materials and specimens.

The exchange meeting also invited Chen Yingxin, director of the Medical Drone Center of Xiu Chuan Memorial Hospital in Changhua, and Chen Junwei, deputy director of the Emergency Medicine Department of National Taiwan University Branch in Hsinchu, to share their experiences. Xiu Chuan started with the transportation of specimens and emergency medicines between hospitals, and gradually planned to extend to the Nantou mountainous area; Hsinchu National Taiwan University Branch is combining firefighting units and technology companies to develop the delivery of medicine, blood, antivenom and AED to rural areas. Chen Junwei also reminded that medical drones still need to include route application, pre-flight inspection and ground operations in the evaluation. The real value lies in its suitability for use in environments with high mountains, interrupted roads and inaccessible vehicles.

Wang Tianyu, head nurse of the Haiduan Township Health Center, said that the Nanheng Mountain area is prone to collapse when typhoons or heavy rains occur, and chronic patients are most worried about not being able to obtain medicines. Last year, Typhoon Huagasa caused the Nanheng Highway to be interrupted. The health center, Guanshan Tzu Chi Hospital, fire brigade and other teams used helicopters, hiking, and tribal connections to deliver medicines. If you go to Lidao on foot, it may take 3 to 4 hours. There are risks of rockfalls and landslides along the way. It is hoped that point-to-point drone delivery will be possible in the future to reduce the labor burden and personnel risks.

Huang Zhaojie, leader of the Eastern District Business Team of the National Health Insurance Administration, said that the combined area of ​​Hualien and Taitung counties is close to one-quarter of Taiwan's total area, but their population only accounts for 2.3% of the country. The vast land, sparse population, and inconvenient transportation are problems that Huadong must face. In the future, under the whole-person integrated care plan, the application of medical drones in emergency rescue and daily care will be studied. Hualien County Health Director Zhu Jiaxiang said that continuous flying and training can allow personnel to become familiar with operations, accumulate different route and weather data, and perform tasks stably when disasters occur.