With vast distances being a significant barrier to accessing equitable health care, remote communities across the world can experience poor health outcomes and limited access to often essential health services.
The Northern Territory (NT) is the most remote jurisdiction in Australia with one percent of the nation’s population spread across a vast, climatically and environmentally varied landscape. The burden of remoteness presents many challenges for our health care system, particularly in delivering effective, timely and responsive health care services in remote regions.
PhD candidate, Vanya Bosiocic, at Charles Darwin University is investigating the opportunities, benefits and costs of using Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (also known as drones) to help bridge the 'distance gap' in remote health care access. She plans to investigate how drones can be used to optimise supply chain systems that are responsible for transporting and delivering life-saving medical items, such as vaccines, to remote communities.
The Northern Territory’s harsh climate and vast distances between communities can challenge the efficiency of supply chain operations. This can lead to disruptions in health care delivery and remote communities not receiving the medication needed on time. Internationally drones have been regularly tested and used for medical delivery, health care access and in saving lives. However, the use of drones in Australia’s health care system is still in its infancy.
Ms Bosiocic hopes her research will shed light on how drones can improve the efficiency of supply chains in the NT to support resilient and timely remote health care access. While also improving health and wellbeing outcomes for remote residents.
This research sits alongside the Drones for Life Project, which aims to overcome the logistical and regulatory challenges of integrating drones into health care supply chains in the NT. Both projects will build capacity for drone operations to become a routine and sustainable part of the Northern Territory health care system.
If you are interested in finding out more information about the research, connect with Ms Bosiocic on LinkedIn or email vanya.bosiocic@cdu.edu.au.