Blue sky thinking: What a B.C. project is learning about drone-delivered health services for remote communities

By now the residents of Stellat’en Reserve and the village of Fraser Lake in northern British Columbia have grown accustomed to the sight of a white drone—measuring about a metre long and a metre wide—flying back-and-forth across the sky. The drone, which was given the name SkyMedic by students at a local school, has been making regular five-kilometre flights between landing sites in the two communities, which are located in a part of the province known for its pristine waters, fish and wildlife. While the area boast a wealth of natural resources, its residents' ability to access health-care services is comparatively poor. “This is a project focused on communities that are very disadvantaged with respect to healthcare access,” said Dr. John Pawlovich, a family doctor in Stellat’en and Fraser Lake, and chair in rural health at the University of British Columbia, one of several partners in the year-long pilot project, which is now in its fourth month. Read: Mobile health unit brings combo of traditional medicine and Indigenous healing practices to vulnerable communities “We know that remote, rural and Indigenous communities across Canada lack equitable access to healthcare services–including diagnostic testing–and pharmaceuticals,” Dr. Pawlovich told The Medical Post. “The more remote you go, the more pronounced that inequity is.” The idea of drone delivery of health services to remote communities has been under discussion for some time, he said. When COVID hit, the urgency of finding a solution to inequitable access intensified. “During the early weeks of COVID, I could do a patient swab in (the community of) Takla Lake, but the test would have to be run to Prince George, which is five to six hours away,” said Dr. Pawlovich. By comparison, a one-way drone flight between Stellat’en and Fraser Lake takes about eight minutes. Read: App allows Indigenous communities to collect their own health data Backed by a $750,000 grant from TD Bank, the project has been transporting “dummy” cargo intended to replicate lab specimens and pharmaceutical products, said Sandy Lee, senior project manager at UBC’s faculty of medicine. “There are several factors that affect the anticipated timeline for actual cargo transport,” she explained. “We just received our dangerous goods exemption from Transport Canada and are waiting for the training for first responders before we can fly dangerous goods material.” The project also needs to make enough successful flights to demonstrate it can maintain the quality of the cargo. “We are incrementally building up to specimen transport in April,” she said. “In the meantime, we are transporting medical supplies between health centres and also traditional medicine to community members.” Engaging and getting buy-in from community residents has been a key part of the process, said Lee. Project leaders worked with community and council members, the mayor of Fraser Lake and even held a contest challenging kids to name the drone–a GPS-based rotorcraft supplied by Toronto-based Delivery Drone Canada Corp. From the start, the project committed to ensuring it respects and supports Indigenous culture and practices. Lee said a lot of thought went into details such as how to safely transport traditional medicine ingredients like liquid herb solutions, bear grease and sweet grass. “This project cannot exist without champions in the community,” said Lee. “This is about establishing trust and co-creating solutions together with Indigenous communities.” At the same time, technical and logistical issues continue to be worked out and analyzed. Ed Ratnarajah, a Vancouver-based director, national strategic partnerships at LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services–one of the project partners–said ensuring the safety and security of the landing site was a top priority. “The landing pad is completely fenced and secured, with electrical and satellite information transmitting back to Toronto,” he said. “And right now we’re trying to evaluate consistency and reliability of flights during different weather and wind patterns.” Frost on propellers have been a concern, as is fog. Current Transport Canada rules allow drones to be flown only within line-of-sight “and that’s a problem when there’s fog,” said Ratnarajah. Securing lab specimens and medications is also critical, he said. A non-breakable container goes inside the drone–which has a four-kilogram payload capacity and can fly at a top speed of 80 kilometres an hour–and can be opened only by authorized personnel at the receiving end. “Drone delivery has a lot of potential in northern B.C. as well as other rural areas in other regions,” said Lee at UBC. “There are 203 First Nations communities in B.C., and many rural and remote communities experience geographic or transportation barriers that may affect community members’ access to healthcare.” Read: Manitoba doctor receives national recognition for work on Indigenous healthcare

Blue sky thinking: What a B.C. project is learning about drone-delivered health services for remote communities

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