Catalonia will launch the first drone-based healthcare transport corridor in Spain

TemperCollecting a cooler full of blood samples from one hospital with a drone and transporting it to another saves time and improves connectivity. This was demonstrated on Tuesday at the Pallars Regional Hospital, testing what will be the first drone-based healthcare transport corridor in Spain. The project, led by the Departments of the Presidency and Health, will be launched this summer between this hospital in Tremp and the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida, where the samples were sent. The aim is to improve response times and territorial equity when sending blood bags, medications, and medical supplies. The use of drones on this first corridor between Tremp and Lleida will reduce the conventional road route from approximately 75 minutes to between 45 and 50 minutes. The choice of these two locations stems from the report Integration of drones into the health system: key areas for territorial deploymentA study prepared by the ICT Health and Social Foundation analyzes the feasibility of integrating this technology into the logistics operations of public hospitals. The report identifies ten strategic areas with 15 hospitals where routes could be deployed in the short and medium term, including the Lleida and Alt Pirineu i Aran health regions.

Fewer polluting emissions and higher sample quality

The project between Lleida and Tremp has already completed the first technical and safety phase and is now awaiting advanced authorization from the Spanish State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) to open regular routes with all necessary guarantees. Once this authorization is obtained, the drones can begin taking off to carry out a regular service that will allow for unscheduled flights and on-demand requests. "It's a technology that doesn't have a schedule—it can operate morning, noon, and night—nor does it depend on weather conditions," explained the Minister of Health, Olga Pané. The director of the El Pallars Regional Hospital, Palmira Borràs, also praised the benefits related to the weather. "In winter, we can have roads closed due to snowfall," Borràs pointed out, highlighting the logistical improvements that the use of drones allows in the region.

In fact, this reduction in transport times is an improvement that had already been verified in pilot tests carried out by the Generalitat (Catalan government) since 2023 in La Garrotxa and the Metropolitana Nord health region to evaluate the potential of drones in transforming healthcare logistics. The technical viability of the model was confirmed at that time, and it was observed that travel time was reduced by more than 70%, and CO₂ emissions by 98%. This also demonstrated an improvement in the clinical quality of the samples, which degraded 50% less.

In addition to the first corridor that is planned for imminent deployment between Lleida and Tremp, the Alt Pirineu i Aran health region is studying the possibility of opening two new drone routes connecting Tremp, Sort, and Vielha. "This doesn't mean we're eliminating road transport, but rather that both can be integrated," Pané clarified. In this regard, the Secretary of Telecommunications and Digital Transformation, Albert Tort, explained that the idea is to develop an application layer to manage the service: "It's the ability, when a need arises, to have a digital layer that chooses the best route and the appropriate transport system." Thus, with the activation of these corridors, which aims to move towards more agile and efficient services, Catalonia seeks to consolidate its position as a leader in Spain in the integration of logistics drones within healthcare services.