According to the MediSafe website, more than 700,000 people ended up in the hospital in 2008, simply because they failed to take their medications as directed. Adherence to treatment has a major impact on the outcome. Whether the patient is elderly or just plain busy, being late taking a dose — or worse, missing it altogether — can have serious repercussions.
MediSafe has a solution that they think is simple, and best of all, it is free. This is an app for smartphones, both Android and iOS. You set it up with your medications, and it will issue reminders. It can track both prescription and non-prescription items. If the user fails to indicate that the meds were taken on time, an alert is sent to a family member or caregiver who can intervene and make sure that the medications are taken as directed. The data can also be reported to a physician if desired.
In April, the company released a version of the program for the Apple Watch. This puts all the benefits of the app on the user’s wrist, making it even easier to receive the reminders and alerts, which in turn should increase the likelihood of successful compliance. This is an example of how wearable Health Tech devices can have a direct impact on medical care for individuals.
