Medication reminder apps

There are a growing number of medication adherence apps to support people in taking their medicines regularly. These apps differ in terms of their features and usefulness. A study on the review of mobile apps to improve medication adherence identified the following functionality features to be important or desirable in medication reminder apps (Santo K, et al, 2016)(external link).¹

• Medication tracking history
  • Ability to record and track taken and missed doses.
• Snooze option
  • Ability to snooze the reminder for a predetermined period of time, for example, 15 minutes.
• Flexible scheduling
  • Ability to schedule reminders to occur on a nondaily or monthly basis or every X days, or ability to schedule medications with stop dates.
• Medication database
  • Availability of a medication database that allows the user to search and select a medication from the database.
• Refill reminders
  • Ability to set reminders to the date when medication needs to be refilled.
• Reminders with no connectivity
  • No Internet connection required for the reminders to function.
• Data exporting and sharing
  • Ability to export and share the medication information to a third party, for example, family member or health care provider.
• Multiple users support
  • Ability to generate medication reminders on different medications for more than 1 user, for example, family members.
• Notification for other people
  • Availability of an option to alert other people about when to take their medication or when missed doses are registered.
• Data security
  • The app developer ensures data security, for example, data are only stored in the user’s device or statement of HIPAAa compliance.
• Data privacy and password protection
  • Password option to access the app.
• Multilingual
  • Availability of languages other than English.
• Time zone support
  • Ability to change time zones to ensure medication is taken at the right time when traveling.
• Adherence rewards
  • Availability of a feature that rewards the patient when the medication is taken on schedule, for example, awarding points for each medication taken that could be redeemed into vouchers.
• Adherence statistics and charts
  • Availability of statistics and charts describing medication usage trends and adherence rates.
• Customizable alert sounds
  • Availability of different types of notification sounds.
• Visualaids
  • Availability of icons (eg, tablet, syringe, drops) or ability to add a picture to provide visual clues (eg, to ensure correct medication is taken).