Tech Review: Medisafe

In the U.K., between one third and one half of all medicines prescribed for long-term conditions are not taken correctly. In addition to its serious health consequences, this is estimated to cost the NHS over £500 million per year.

With this in mind, we wanted to find out more about some of the tech being used to tackle the problem. One of the most downloaded Apps for medicines management is ‘Medisafe’. With an average score of 4.7 out of 5 on GooglePlay (across over 200,000 reviews), we were keen to find out more.

How it Works

Medisafe is a free App, available on iOS and Android, with optional In-App purchases for additional features. In a nutshell, it is a way of storing information about medications and reminding the user (and others, such as family members) to take them on time. I downloaded the App on my phone (iPhone SE) and tried it out.

The first thing I noticed is that there is no requirement to register. You just click on ‘Get Started’ and can immediately begin populating the medication library. The App auto-completes medications once you start typing and has standard doses to choose from, with the nice touch of being able to select what the tablet actually looks like to serve as a visual reminder. The dose and frequency are entered.

A nice feature which then appears is that, for each medication, there is a link to an information video that explains its uses, how it is taken and possible side effects.

The option is given to input why the user takes the medication and how many tablets they have remaining, enabling auto-reminders when the supply is low. The medication history can be exported to an email or excel file, and similarly can be imported from major pharmacies.

Another key feature of the App is the option of selecting a ‘Medfriend’, a friend or relative who can be given access to the user’s medication history and automatically receive alerts if and when a medication is missed.

Another useful feature is the tab that lists medication interactions.

Strengths

· It’s free. The paid version gives access to different colour schemes, alert tones and an unlimited number of family members who can be added, but for the majority of people the free version is likely to be sufficient.

· Intuitive and user-friendly interface that feels personalised with the separate explainer videos for each medication.

· Medfriend option- likely to be very useful for remote monitoring by family members.

· Integration with smartwatches, although this is probably less useful for patients themselves and more for their relatives who are keeping an eye on them.

Things to Improve

· Manual data entry is required- other Apps in this space have mechanisms for automatically uploading information, for example by scanning in a barcode

· Some users have highlighted problems with synching the App across multiple devices, and disablement of the auto-complete mode when offline.

· Would be nice to have the option of explanations in different languages.

Our View

This is a great App for people who want reminders about taking their medications- almost like an electronic dosette box. The Medfriend option adds real value, although it should be remembered that taking medications is only one component of staying healthy!

Please note that the views expressed here are those of the author alone and not necessarily those of any other person or organisation