JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Palliative care supports individuals with incurable, life-threatening illnesses. Access to this type of care varies greatly, especially in rural areas, making alternative approaches, such as eHealth applications, increasingly important. For these technologies to be effective, they must be tailored to the specific needs of patients and caregivers, which differ from those in general healthcare contexts. In this context, drone technology is a promising solution for ensuring the timely delivery of medications in palliative care, especially in remote areas.

Objective:

This study firstly aimed to identify user needs and requirements for a drone-based medication delivery that would supplement traditional courier services in palliative care.

Methods:

To ensure a user-centered design, focus group and interviews were conducted with family caregivers.

Results:

Caregivers often travel long distances to obtain medications, leaving patients unattended. Medication shortages were particularly reported in the afternoons and on weekends. These findings highlight the need for improved logistics in palliative care. However, caregivers also expressed limited technical skills, especially regarding app usage for ordering drones. This underscores the necessity of a simple system.

Conclusions:

There is a demand for a fast and reliable supply chain for medication to address delivery gaps during times of heightened demand. Drones were viewed as a valuable addition to traditional courier services, particularly when conventional logistics fail. For successful implementation, though, the technology must be user-friendly and account for low eHealth literacy among caregivers. Further research is needed to reconcile the technological aspects of drone-based delivery with the real-world challenges of providing palliative care.