If the word APP makes you want to stop reading – please don’t. I know that as seniors, we are not all tech-whizzes. But, if you can navigate your mobile phone menus and can chat on WhatsApp, you can keep reading!
At an elderly age, we are all dealing with health concerns, and many of us (me included) have loads of pills that need to be taken at all times of the day and night. Keeping track can be difficult. How great would it be if your phone could remind you to take your pills, and warn you if you missed them?
Now, I know technology can sometimes seem scary and out of reach, but do not worry. I recently discovered the Medisafe App which has been designed for ease of use to keep track of your medication and your schedules. I have also managed to download it and use it and I am here to guide you through the process.
Let’s explore how this friendly app can bring simplicity and peace of mind to your daily health routine.
How Do You Find The App On The Phone?
The first step is to find the App! Depending on your phone, you can easily find this pill management app on Google Play or the Apple App Store. You can do this by tapping on the relevant icon.
After tapping on the icon you will see a Search Icon in the top right corner (it looks like a magnifying glass).
Tap on the Search Icon and then type in the word Medisafe. The phone will help you with some suggestions as you can see below.
I tapped on the first option (which sounded like the one I wanted)
I was then presented with the following screen.
Look for the App with the blue image and click on Install. Just out of interest – under the image you can see some statistics about this app. It is always useful to look at the stats to see if the App is of value to users.
This app has a 4.7 stars – that is a measure out of 5 stars. So this is good. A rating of under 4 would not be good and these apps should probably be avoided. You can also see that more than 5 million people have downloaded this app, which means that you are not alone!
After tapping on INSTALL, you will see a message that tells you to wait while the app is being downloaded onto your phone. This should not take more than a few minutes. You will also see a percentage reading to monitor the progress. Once it is downloaded, you can click on OPEN to set up your info.
Start by typing in your name and clicking on next. Then choose your date of birth. You can slide the numbers up and down to get the one you need. When you are done, click on DONE at the bottom of the screen.
The next step is to tell the app what you want to use it for. As you can see, I chose
Get medication reminders
and
Track whether I took my meds
There are other options that you can choose if you want. I decided to start simple!
After that, you will get a welcome aboard message, which shows that you have done all this successfully up to now. Well done!
Enter in the name of your medication and then choose what form it is in – pill, injection, drops, etc. Choose the time that you want to be reminded to take the medication.
Now you are almost done. You can choose a few other options, but I decided not to, and just tapped on SAVE.
So, it will now remind me at 6.00am every day to take my Copalia 5/160 tablet and it will alert me with an alarm if I have forgotten.
If you choose other options on the app, it can also track your medication history and provide information on potential side effects and interactions.
You can also track medication for other members of the family and even your pets. For safety, the app can alert you if you have loaded two or more meds that may have an adverse interaction. The app also offers a host of interesting in-depth articles on health issues like Mental Health, Cholesterol, Epilepsy, Migraines, Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, and more.
Is It Worth Trying?
For seniors who have not yet ventured into using apps, this is an easy and very useful app to start with. This website gives you all the info you need about the MediSafe app. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!