April 28, 2026- Advocate Health is taking a major step into the future of care delivery, announcing plans to launch what it calls the nation’s largest hospital-based drone delivery network in partnership with Zipline.
The initiative, unveiled in March 2026, aims to transform how patients receive medications, lab services and home health supplies. By using autonomous drones, the health system expects to significantly speed up delivery times while improving access—particularly for patients at home or in underserved areas.
The program will begin in 2027 in the Charlotte market before expanding to Chicago and Milwaukee, with longer-term plans that include reaching rural communities in Georgia. At full scale, the network is expected to handle more than 100,000 deliveries annually.
Beyond convenience, the strategy is rooted in clinical impact. Faster transport of lab specimens between facilities could reduce turnaround times for diagnostic results, helping clinicians make quicker treatment decisions. Meanwhile, direct-to-home delivery of prescriptions and supplies is designed to improve adherence and patient experience.
The drones themselves will carry payloads such as medications or samples and lower them to the ground via tether—allowing for precise delivery even in challenging weather conditions.
Advocate Health leaders frame the effort as part of a broader push to rethink care delivery logistics. By integrating drone technology into core operations, the system is aiming to remove traditional bottlenecks in healthcare access and supply movement—an approach that signals how health systems are increasingly looking beyond the hospital walls to improve outcomes.