Set up
Users have to create an account to use the app, which includes answering some basic sign-up questions.
Setting up the app was “fairly easy” for most of our reviewers. The app uses large, easy-to-tap buttons to get around, making navigation to different screens simple.
One reviewer said using the app was “fairly intuitive,” and another described it as “fairly straightforward.”
Issues
All our reviewers had some navigation issues. They complained that the app involved too much scrolling, especially when it came to using the medication and symptom tracking features.
Medication tracking and reminders
All 6 reviewers had some difficulty or concerns with adding their medication to the virtual ‘Medication Cabinet.’
The app includes an extensive list of Parkinson’s medication for you to choose from, but you have to scroll through the whole list to find each medicine you want to add.
A reviewer who was diagnosed a year ago said it “would be good to have a search function for adding medications, rather than having to scroll through a list.” She added that it would have been “helpful” to also be able to add her other non-Parkinson’s medication. She suggested that the option to add a custom medication would have made a big difference.
Another reviewer also said they would have liked to record their other prescription medication, over-the-counter drugs and vitamins and supplements.
Once you have selected your medication, you can record your dosage, schedule, and take a photo of the medication and its packaging. There is also an option to set medication reminders.
For 1 reviewer, who is affected by lack of coordination and dexterity issues, the medication set up was so “unclear” that she had to contact customer service. She spoke to the founder, Richelle Flanagan, who sent her a ‘how to’ video of entering her medication details correctly. “The video was very clear and helpful. I suggested to her that they might add the video to the [app] for everyone.”
2 of our reviewers liked the medication reminders, but other reviewers had concerns. One noticed that she didn’t always get the alerts on her phone and another found that the medication scheduling did not support the way in which she takes her medication. She explained: “I take my first dose on getting out of bed, whatever time that may be, then I take the next dose approx 2.5 hours later and so on. So having fixed alarm times does not work and I have to use the phone’s timer alarm instead.”
Symptom tracking
To track your symptoms, you have to pick one from another very long list. The symptoms are in categories such as Sleep, Emotion & Feelings, and Movement Coordination. Once you’ve chosen a symptom, you can record what time it happened and how severe it was. Fortunately, there is also a list of your 3 most recent symptoms that can speed this up.
A reviewer commented on the nuisance of having to scroll through so many options: “It is incredibly laborious and requires users to have dexterity to scroll endlessly through options, which is really difficult if you have Parkinson’s.”
This annoyance was shared by a 60-year-old reviewer who said: “This product was super frustrating and I could not work out what benefit I was getting from using it.”
“It was a real nuisance to have to scroll down through the very long list of symptoms to record those not in the ‘recent symptom’ list,” said a reviewer who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 9 years ago. “It discourages you from tracking symptoms that occur less frequently.”