Drones in Healthcare Delivery In India: An Advancement in Technology for Promise and Practice – A Scoping Review

Abstract Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, have emerged as a novel solution to bridge last-mile healthcare gaps. Several Indian pilot initiatives have explored drone applications for transporting medical supplies, yet there is limited synthesis of this emerging evidence. This scoping review aimed to systematically map the existing evidence on the applications of drone technology in healthcare delivery in India, identify implementation challenges, summarize reported outcomes, and highlight research gaps. A scoping review was conducted using the literature from PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, official government sources, and gray literature published between January 2015 and July 2025. Evidence was synthesized narratively to identify major themes related to healthcare applications, feasibility, benefits, implementation challenges, and health system readiness. Globally, drones have been successfully used to transport blood products, vaccines, emergency medicines, diagnostic samples, and even human organs. In India, initiatives such as the i-DRONE project, Medicine from the Sky program, and several state-level pilot projects have demonstrated the feasibility of drone-assisted healthcare delivery in difficult terrains and underserved areas. Evidence suggests that drones can reduce delivery times, improve access to healthcare services, strengthen emergency response, and enhance supply chain efficiency. However, widespread implementation remains constrained by regulatory challenges, weather dependency, limited payload capacity, infrastructure requirements, privacy concerns, cybersecurity risks, workforce limitations, and uncertainties regarding long-term financial sustainability. Furthermore, evidence on cost-effectiveness, health outcomes, and large-scale integration into routine health systems remains limited. Drone technology presents a promising innovation to strengthen healthcare logistics in India. However, successful integration requires robust regulation, health system alignment, community engagement, and sustainable financing models.