Medication Reminder Apps That Think Outside The (Pill)Box

Last updated: 19 October 2018

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Medication reminder apps

We start new medications and treatments with the greatest of intentions, but everyday life often has other plans. Remembering to take meds and monitor their effects is an important responsibility for every patient. But we all have those oops moments where we can’t quite remember if it was yesterday that we washed down that pill after breakfast or today. And that’s before we factor in whether we should be taking them with food in the first place. Patient adherence, or managing to remember to take those pesky pills and how they should be taken, is a huge concern in the healthcare community. The simple fact is, drugs don’t work if patients don’t take them and it’s estimated that 50% of the 2 billion prescriptions filled each year are not taken correctly [1]. Lucky for us, there’s an app for that, there are hundreds of medication reminder apps, in fact. Here, we round-up our favorite six that will help you avoid those oops days and stay on track with your treatment.

Please note: nothing can replace the care of your clinician or doctor. Please do not make changes to your treatment or schedules without first consulting your healthcare providers. These apps are not intended to diagnose or treat illness.

Mango Health Medication Reminder

iPhone, free. Android, free.

Taking medication isn’t a whole heap of fun, but that hasn’t stopped the folks at Mango Health who have put a gaming spin on the conventional reminder app with great success. The app features a schedule for creating reminders, drug interaction warnings, refill alerts, and a diary. But the real standout is the gamified points system; take your medication and earn points, earn enough and you could win prizes. Yes, we thought that might get your attention.

Round Pill Tracker and Medication Reminder

iPhone, free. Android, not available. 

Life doesn’t stop just because your phone is doing the marimba. Instead of choosing a precise minute of the day at which you’d like to take your pills, Round allows you to choose a ‘reminder window’ and gently nudges you throughout that hour (or so) until you tell it to stop. Add to that it’s eye-wateringly beautiful design and simple interface and you’ve got the perfect app for minimalists.

MyMeds Medication Management

iPhone, free. Android, free.

MyMeds can send you reminders by email and text, as well as push notifications, which is handy if you’d rather receive info in your inbox. It also has a feature that helps you become more informed about why you are on certain treatments (and you know we like patients to be informed). But perhaps the biggest plus is that it enables you to invite family, friends and your healthcare team to view and help with your progress. We can see a lot of people finding that level of support hugely beneficial to their day-to-day health routine.

MediSafe Meds and Pills Reminder

iPhone, free. Android, free.

Another app that hopes to motivate adherence and keep patients involved in their own care by informing them, MediSafe can be integrated with HealthKit (iPhone) to keep track of blood glucose, blood pressure, and weight and can even save reports as PDFs. The app also helps you discover more about food and drug interactions, something the general public is not so well informed of [2]. There’s a playful side to this offering too, though. How about setting your alert tones so Darth Vader or Austin Powers tell you when to take your meds? Yeah, baby.

Dosecast Medication Reminder

iPhone, free. Android, free.

A pretty run-of-the-mill reminder, Dosecast’s standout feature is its live sync function. Download the app to all your devices and each one will be kept up-to-date instantly. So tell your tablet that you took your tablets, and you won’t be reminded by your mobile. Tech addicts, you are served.

Drug.com Pill Reminder

iPhone, free. Android, not available. 

If you’ve done any kind of online research into treatments, you’ve probably found yourself on Drugs.com, the internet’s most visited independent medicine information site. So it won’t surprise you that Drugs.com’s reminder app makes use of its widely trusted database to help you manage any combination medications, vitamins, and supplements. The in-app pin lock will appeal to anyone who is concerned about privacy.