Automatic Pill Dispensers: Can They Help Seniors Stay Safe?

Introduction: Taking Control of Your Medication with Automatic Pill Dispensers

Taking daily medications has become a regular part of many seniors’ daily routines. Some medications are meant to be taken at a specific time of the day, while others are intended to be taken with a meal. Some even provide a little more wiggle room, instructing patients to “take every 6 hours” on the prescription label.

However, humans aren’t perfect in maintaining routines, and it’s easy to miss a dose or even double up on a dose when your regimen slightly changes or if you’re on multiple meds at once, known as polypharmacy. These kinds of mistakes can be dangerous no matter the medication with the possibility for overdose or letting a health condition go untreated.

Automatic medication dispensers are no longer a thing of the future; they are here to assist seniors and their caregivers as they manage complex medication regimens. With the right automatic medication dispenser, such as Hero, you can stay on top of your medication routine to help you prevent missing doses or double dosing. Let's dive into how these smart pill dispensers are revolutionizing healthcare.

Medication Challenges for Seniors: The Importance of Medication Adherence

Taking medication has become a daily ritual for many seniors. With prescribed medications to treat various ailments, it's easy to get overwhelmed with managing the medication schedule. Whether you need to take pills with meals, early doses, or every six hours, the challenge of maintaining a routine is real.

But what if there were a way to help improve medication adherence, and help reduce double dosing and missed doses? Automatic medication dispensers, like the Hero and MedMinder pill dispensers, are designed to assist with a solution.

Medication Schedules and the Risk of Errors

It’s only natural that our schedules can change from time to time. From a particularly relaxing Sunday afternoon to spending the holidays with the family, there are days when you just have a bit more on your mind and can overlook your medication.

For medications expected to be taken at specific times of the day, this forgetfulness becomes an issue. For instance, if your doctor has prescribed daily medication with instructions to take it each night at bedtime, it’s because it takes the medication about 24 hours to be processed and used in the body [1].

Taking a pill late may leave your body without medication, and taking a pill too early may cause your body to have too much of a medication, resulting in increased severity of side effects and even overdose.

According to sources, 89% of seniors over 65 are on at least one prescription medication, with 54% taking more than four. The importance of keeping track and taking medication at the prescribed time cannot be overstated [3].

Polypharmacy

Taking multiple pills daily for multiple health conditions is referred to as polypharmacy. When taking five or more medications simultaneously, you may find yourself struggling with tracking the uses for the different medications and their side effects. In many cases, this struggle occurs because there are too many prescriptions from different providers, running the risk of the patient being over-prescribed or meds interacting in negative ways [2].

Those dealing with polypharmacy may find it difficult to keep track of when each medication should be taken. This may become especially challenging for seniors, who are often subject to memory degeneration while many are also likely dealing with polypharmacy for multiple conditions. 

Medication Organization: From Pill Organizers to Smart Solutions

Whether using pill compartments, pill organizers, or prescription bottles, medication organization can be tedious. These methods can present struggles for the user, such as forgetting whether a dose was taken from the original prescription pill bottle, or forgetting whether the correct pills were sorted into the correct organizer slots during a weekly pill sorting routine.

The Problem with Prescription Bottles

Nearly everyone has taken medication from a prescription bottle at some point in time. It’s not an issue for as-needed medication, but it is not an option when your medication is crucial for your day-to-day wellness.

Taking pills from a bottle while trying to keep track of what you have and haven’t taken can become difficult with multiple meds, especially when the pills look similar. This becomes especially challenging for those with bad eyesight or memory issues.

The Problem with Pill Boxes

For individuals taking meds daily, pill organizer boxes have been a go-to for many years. These colored boxes are often labeled with the days of the week, and their snap tops allow them to be stored with lower risk of spilling.

The idea of pill boxes is simple: you fill each compartment (usually once a week) according to your medication regimen, you take your pills each day based on what’s in that day's compartment, and you refill the box once you run out.

However, the size of the compartments can become an issue depending on the size of your pills taken each day. These containers can also be hard to get open, and unless you actually remember you need to take them, the box will remain out of sight, and out of mind. Moreover, these boxes typically only hold up to one week’s worth of pills at a time, meaning they need to be refilled regularly -- just another crucial task to add to your med management routine.

Hero Automatic Pill Dispenser: A User-Friendly Medication Dispenser

When it comes to user-friendly pill dispensers that dispense the right medications at the right time, the Hero automatic pill dispenser stands out. With features such as flashing light notifications, an audible alarm, and online portal access, it's designed to cater to different needs, including those of the hearing impaired.

Why is Hero a Smart Pill Dispenser: Extra Features and Benefits

1. Customizable Notifications: Set phone call reminders and receive notifications via phone or text message.
2. In-Room Call or Text Reminders: With Hero, you can set up call or text medication reminders so you won’t miss the notification if you are in another room. Both of these alerts can also be sent to a caregiver.
3. Monitoring and Tracking: Keep track of doses and notify caregivers through the web portal.
4. Extended Capacity and Refill Alerts: With space for up to 90 days' worth of 10 different medications, Hero will alert you for refills when you program pill amounts.

Track your Doses with Hero's Pill Dispenser

Hero not only helps in preventing pharmaceutical errors but also empowers seniors to manage their own medication, helping them remain independent. With technical support and in-depth guidance, family members can rest easy, knowing their loved ones are taken care of.

Conclusion: The Future of Medication Management

The best automatic pill dispenser could indeed be a life-changer. By choosing an automatic medication dispenser like Hero, you can ease the burden of managing medications and Hero may additionally help aid in the quality of life for seniors and caregivers alike.

Check here to learn more about Hero and see how it can make med management easier than ever.

Sources:

1. https://ocrc.net/how-does-the-body-metabolize-medication/#:~:text=In%20general%2C%20it%20typically%20takes,therapeutic%20to%20reach%20the%20bloodstream
2. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/resources-you-drugs/drug-interactions-what-you-should-know
3. https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/data-note-prescription-drugs-and-older-adults/