Cure for healthcare? Using drone technology in hospital processes : an explorative analysis

While developed and initially used by militaries, the technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, have already proven the potential to disrupt several industries ranging from gaming and sports to police and defense, as well as arts and entertainment, logistics, search and rescue. The paper at hand aims at outlining the potential and possible fields of application using drone technology inside the Swiss hospital environment. The research problem is analyzed from two main perspectives: (1) the Hospital environment with its domain-specific conditions, particularities, and constraints, and (2) the field of drones, including its range of best practices, regulations, standards, and available technology. As part of a survey, face-to-face interviews with CIOs and IT executives of four Swiss hospitals were conducted on the status quo of drone technology in the Swiss hospital environment providing valuable insights about the current situation and the possible fields of application. Exploring the reasons for the skeptical attitude towards drone technology in hospitals, the study revealed that different priorities, lack of motivation, and budget constraints were mentioned as the three major obstacles to improving the situation