Intermountain Healthcare and Zipline partner to bring care closer to patient homes

Zipline, the global instant logistics leader, today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Intermountain Healthcare. Together, Zipline and Intermountain Healthcare will deliver prescriptions and medical supplies to patients in the Salt Lake City metro area. The operation is expected to grow over a multi-year period to ultimately complete hundreds of deliveries each day and be capable of delivering to approximately 90 percent of patient homes in the region.

With Zipline’s automated, on-demand delivery service, Intermountain Healthcare will make care more accessible and convenient for its patients. The two companies will initially focus on the delivery of speciality pharmaceuticals and homecare products to patient homes within a 50-mile radius of the Salt Lake-area distribution centre. Over time, Intermountain Healthcare plans to expand to deliver a range of medications and products, including prescriptions, specialty pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter items.

“Making access to healthcare faster and more convenient will lead to better health outcomes for our patients,” said Marc Harrison, MD, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare. “And with Zipline, we’re making the idea of true care at home a reality for many of our patients.”

Zipline’s automated, on-demand delivery service features a fleet of small, fixed-wing autonomous aircraft. These aircraft can travel long distances in most weather conditions and safely, gently, and quietly parachute packages to an area about the size of several parking spaces. Zipline’s aircraft are entirely electric, and can help reduce vehicle traffic and carbon emissions from medical deliveries in Utah.

“Intermountain Healthcare shares our vision of powering telemedicine with instant logistics. Patients can connect with providers from the home, and then receive the medications and supplies they need in a matter of minutes, directly to their doorsteps,” said Keller Rinaudo, co-founder and CEO of Zipline. “For example, a cancer patient could receive her medication without ever leaving her home. Or a single parent could get his child’s antibiotics without a trip to the pharmacy. Instant access to care is not just about convenience. It comes down to making healthcare more equitable, efficient, and reliable for people, regardless of where they live or their circumstances.”

Zipline and Intermountain Healthcare will begin construction in early 2022 and plan to begin deliveries by midyear. Zipline currently operates at a multinational scale in Ghana and Rwanda, with plans to soon launch operations in Japan and Nigeria. After five years of operations, Zipline recently announced it has completed more than 200,000 commercial deliveries.

The CEOs of both companies will discuss the new partnership during a panel at Reuters Total Health Virtual Global Conference on November 17, 2021. For more information, please visit reutersevents.com/events/healthcare.

About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, the Intermountain Medical Group with 2,700 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah, and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs. For more information, see intermountain healthcare.org.

About Zipline
Zipline is the global instant logistics leader. Our purpose is to inspire possibility, transform systems and serve all people equally. We design, manufacture and operate the world’s largest automated on-demand commercial delivery service, which to date has made more than 200,000 commercial deliveries. Zipline is the trusted partner for governments, global brands and leading health care systems. For more information about Zipline, visit flyzipline.com.