Medication Education, Decision Support, Reminding, and Monitoring System (MEDSReM) Mobile Application (App)

The United States and many other western countries have aging populations. With age comes wisdom, but also a myriad health problems. Of those health problems, hypertension is one of the leading causes of heart complications and death. Approximately 30 million people in the United States currently take blood pressure medication to mitigate the risks of hypertension. Blood pressure medication staves off the long term effects of high blood pressure over years. However, individuals must take this medication regularly and in specified windows. If a time window is missed, individuals may have too much or too little of the medication in their systems for the medication to be effective.

This technology is the first step in a customizable application to remind the user to take their medication and to educate the user on what to do if there is a missed time window. Furthermore, this invention gives the input of interviewed individuals over 65 to understand the issues encountered when trying to regularly take medication. With the increase in smartphone usage across age demographics, the time is now to create a customized solution using smartphones to the benefit of those consistently taking medication.

Background:
There are a few trends that allow the success of this technology. One is the increasing average age in the United States and the need for regularly taken medications. The other trend is an increase in the number of individuals over 60 who regularly carry smartphones, which is now over 40%. With both of these trends happening on parallel timelines, it is high time for an app that allows people in this demographic to get educated about the medication they take. And, perhaps most importantly, if a time window was missed for taking specific medications, the app can let the individual know if it is safe to take their medication at that point.

Even with the advances in technology, the available medication reminders are either on some sort of clock or an smartphone timer. In addition, there are medication dispensers that help people remember when to take their medication based on the last time the container was opened. With the advent of all of this new technology however, there needs to be an educational aspect to taking medication and allowing individuals to take control of their own healthcare. This is the first step.

Applications:

• Elder care
• Medication regimens

Advantages:

• Customizable
• Inexpensive
• Wide use