How tech can help manage your medication?

From reminder apps to all-in-one digital dosette boxes and dispensers, here’s how tech can help you manage your meds.

One of the most common ways to manage the symptoms of Parkinson’s is by taking medication that boosts the chemical dopamine in the brain. For these medications to be effective, it’s crucial that they’re taken regularly and on time. Read on to learn how tech can help you manage your medication. 

Taking medication in a timely manner is something Parkinson’s UK has recently championed in the ‘Get It On Time’ campaign, which you can read more about hereopens in new tab. Delays in taking medication can result in stress, anxiety, immobility, severe tremors and worse. Unfortunately, remembering to take your meds can be tricky when you’re juggling multiple prescriptions and doses throughout the day. 

Image: MedpeR

There are several ways you can remind yourself to take your medication. You might have already tried picking up a pill box with different sections for the time and day, asking a family member to call you at a certain hour or setting an alarm on your smartphone when it’s time to take your next dose. 

However, if you’re looking for a more advanced way to manage your medication, tech can help. From sophisticated reminder apps to all-in-one digital dosette boxes and automated dispensers, this guide will delve into the apps and devices you can use to help manage your medication. 

How to use tech to help manage your medication 

There are a couple of different ways tech can help manage your medication and ensure you’re taking the right dosage at the right time. 

Apps

Apps can often be the most affordable way to integrate tech into your life, with many coming in at a very low cost or completely free. You might even find that some capabilities come readily built into your smartphone, smartwatch or tablet. 

Basic reminder apps often come pre-installed on your device, allowing you to set custom reminders for, among other things, medication. There are also services created specifically to track drugs like the medication tracker in the Apple Health app that comes with your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. 

While there’s no Google-specific medication tracker for Android devices, you can find plenty of third-party medication tracking apps for both Android and iOS (Apple) devices in their respective app stores. This includes apps designed with people with Parkinson’s in mind. 

Image: MyTherapy

You can find a growing number of these apps listed in the Parkinson’s UK Tech Guide under the constantly expanding ‘Taking my pills’ filter, as linked here. You can also find our in-depth panel reviews of these apps, where available, by clicking on that app in the Tech Guide catalogue, scrolling down the page and clicking ‘Read the full Panel Review’. 

Apps can be a huge help to those who keep their devices in their hand or pocket, but if you keep your phone buried deep in your bag or in another room, you could easily run the risk of missing a notification. 

Digital dosette boxes

If you prefer something physical that can actually store your meds, as well as provide timely reminders, a digital dosette box could be the way to go. 

Image: YourMEDS

These electronic dosette boxes are organised by day or time and can be filled by yourself, a family member or your pharmacist. When your medication is due, they’ll make a sound to alert you, ensuring you never miss a dose – even if you don’t have your phone in your pocket or a smartwatch on your wrist. 

One major downside to digital dosette boxes is that they cost substantially more than your standard pill organiser paired with a free reminder app. They also might not be the most practical option if you leave your home often throughout the day, as they can be quite large and unwieldy. 

Digital medication dispensers 

There are also digital medication dispensers or “robots”, which offer similar benefits (and drawbacks) to digital dosette boxes with a heavy emphasis on safety. 

Digital medication dispensers are filled using prepackaged multi-dose medicine pouches from your pharmacy and, like digital dosette boxes, can be separated by day or time depending on your needs. 

Image: Evondos

These dispensers work by unlocking each compartment at the right time, ensuring you take the correct amount of medication as needed. They act as a locked medicine cabinet when doses are missed, and can even be used by carers to monitor medication adherence in real-time using a mobile app where available. 

However, like digital dosette boxes, digital medication dispensers can be pricey compared to traditional dosette boxes and reminder apps and certainly aren’t as easy to take on the go. 

You can find a small selection of digital dosette boxes and automated medication dispensers under the ‘Taking my pills’ tag here.