BayCare to launch medical drone logistics service in Florida’s Gulf Coast

BayCare Health System is set to introduce Tampa Bay’s first healthcare drone delivery service in late 2027, using autonomous aircraft to transport medications, laboratory samples, and critical medical supplies across the Florida west coast region.

The Clearwater-based nonprofit has partnered with drone delivery company Zipline to establish the service initially in Pinellas County before expanding into Hillsborough County. The program will support transfers of lab specimens from urgent care centers, emergency rooms, and home care patients, while enabling prescription and emergency supply deliveries directly to patients.

Under the operating model, healthcare providers will place orders into designated Zipline drop boxes. A drone will collect a delivery pod, fly to the destination, and lower the package by tether from up to 300ft before returning to a charging station.

Zipline’s autonomous aircraft are designed to operate at speeds of up to 70mph, with a reported range of 24 miles one way. The company says its systems are designed for accurate deliveries in challenging weather conditions while reducing reliance on road transport.

BayCare said the technology was intended to complement, rather than replace, existing logistics teams. In 2025, its courier network travelled more than 3.2 million miles supporting healthcare operations.

“It can be challenging at times with traffic and there are those time-sensitive tests that we drop everything to get a courier there,” Donna Lynch, Vice President of Laboratory Services at BayCare, told Fox 13 Tampa Bay. “It will save a nurse a trip from having to drive a specimen to a hospital lab so they can spend more time with the patient.”

BayCare operates 16 hospitals across the Tampa area and joins a growing number of healthcare providers exploring drone-enabled medical logistics.

In South America, Guyana’s Ministry of Health recently used drone technology to deliver medical supplies to the Moraikobai Health Center along the Mahaicony River.