Drugs delivered by drone to pharmacies in Trikala

A drone will transport drugs to regional pharmacies in Trikala, northwestern Greece on Tuesday in the first test flight as part of the EU-funded Harmony project. 

“It may seem a bit extreme now, but it will be a reality in a few years,” the mayor of Trikala, Dimitris Papastergiou, told Kathimerini about the project.

For the time being, the pilot action will last for two months, transporting drugs from the Association of Pharmacists of Trikala to regional pharmacies. 

The many benefits of the initiative include the reduction of traffic in the city, but the most important goal is to quickly serve people in emergencies and the medical coverage of remote areas, where elderly or vulnerable residents often do not have easy access to pharmacies.

“Last year a village was blocked in Karditsa,” Papageorgiou said, stressing that, in such a case, the drones could transport medicines or other things to excluded residents.