Missing Your Meds? Pill Reminder Apps Can Help
Taking the right dose of medicine at the right time helps you get the most benefits from breast cancer treatment.
But if you’re taking more than one medicine at a time, it can be a struggle to keep track. According to the American Medical Association, people don’t take medicine as prescribed about half the time.
There are a number of things you can do to help you remember to take your medicine on time. For example, you could use a pill case, sign up for call or text reminders from your pharmacy or doctor, or pair your medicine with a daily habit, like always taking the medicine in the morning after you brush your teeth or with your breakfast.
Pill reminder apps are the latest tool that may help. A 2024 study highlights the potential benefits of pill reminder apps for people in treatment for breast cancer. It found that the pill reminder app Medisafe app helped many women remember to take breast cancer medicines during the 12 weeks of the study.
Things to consider when picking a pill reminder app
There are many medicine reminder apps available and new ones are being made available for download. Before browsing, downloading, or paying for any of them, consider the features that you might find most useful. Here are some of the most common features people want:
unlimited number of medicine reminders
ability to have multiple people on one account
information about drugs, drug interactions, and side effects
doctor appointment notifications
prescription refill notifications
health information tracking (weight, blood pressure, etc.)
snooze feature that continues to remind you to take a medicine until you turn it off
symptom tracking
caregiver notification if a dose is missed
Finding the reminder app that’s best for you can mean doing a little research. Here are some other points to consider:
Price: Many of the apps offer a free basic version, with a monthly charge for premium or pro versions.
Ease of use: These apps are supposed to make your life easier, so many people prefer apps that are simple to set up and use.
Privacy: Does the app comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) to ensure the privacy of your medical information? Before you download an app, look to see which data, if any, the developer collects from the app.
Customer reviews: Read the reviews on the App Store and Google Play to see what people who are using the app have to say.
— Last updated on December 8, 2024 at 2:33 PM