Alarms and apps so you never forget your medication

How to choose and set up alarms, apps and other reminders so you take your medication on time without relying on anyone.

Yes, an alarm or an app can help you remember your tablets, but only if you set them up well and pair them with a routine and a system that tells you what to take at each moment. Your phone reminds you; what you do when it goes off is what makes the difference.

If you work, travel or simply have very different days, it is easy to miss a dose. Here is a practical guide to choosing the tool that suits you and getting the most out of it without filling your day with beeps.

Do alarms and apps really help you take your medication?

They help, especially with forgetting. A systematic review published in the journal JAMIA concluded that electronic reminders (text messages, alarms and devices with alerts) improve the taking of long-term medication in the short term, although their long-term effect remains unclear.

That means a reminder is a good tool, but it is not enough on its own. It tends to work better when:

• You understand what each medicine is for and you agree with the treatment.
• The dose is tied to a fixed moment in your day (breakfast, dinner, brushing your teeth).
• Your medication is ready and to hand when the reminder goes off.

If the problem is not forgetting but that the treatment disagrees with you, you cannot see the point of it or it is too complicated, no app will fix that: talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

What kinds of reminder are there and which one suits you?

The simplest option, your phone alarm, is enough for many people. If you take several medicines at different times or want to keep a record, a dedicated app or a pill organiser with an alert may suit you better.

How should you set up alarms so you do not end up ignoring them?

The key is to have few alarms, with a name that says exactly what to do, tied to something you already do every day. If ten alerts go off each day, you will end up silencing them.

1. One alarm per dose time, not per tablet: for example, "8:00 breakfast: blood pressure and thyroid".
2. Choose the time to fit your routine, not the other way round. If you always have breakfast at 7:30, set the alarm for 7:30. For more ideas, read how to link each dose to a daily habit.
3. Use a different tone from your wake-up alarm and messages, so you recognise it instantly.
4. Avoid snoozing. If you cannot take it right then, set a specific second alarm, for example 20 minutes later.
5. Tick the dose as taken in the app or on a list. That way, if you are unsure, you can check instead of taking it twice.
6. Review your alarms whenever your treatment changes, when you travel to another time zone and when the clocks change.

What should you check before installing a medication app?

A good reminder app alerts you, records your doses and protects your data; it does not decide your dose for you. Before installing one, spend five minutes checking these points:

• Who develops it: a health service, a pharmacy, a drug company or a tech company. Read the reviews and the date of the latest update.
• What data it asks for and why: health data are especially sensitive. Check the privacy policy and any permissions (contacts, location) it does not need.
• Whether it works offline: the alert should go off even if you are on the underground or on a plane.
• Whether it lets you record doses and export your list: useful to show at appointments.
• Whether it reminds you when to reorder: handy so you do not run out of medication at the weekend.

Be wary of any app that suggests changing doses or times on your own. If you miss a dose, the reference is the leaflet, your doctor or your pharmacist; here we explain what to do if you forget a dose.

A practical example: Javier and his three dose times

Let us take the case of Javier, 61, a sales representative with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. He takes five medicines spread across breakfast, lunch and dinner. On days when he visits clients he forgets his lunchtime tablet and sometimes the evening one because he gets home late.

What he could do, without changing anything in his treatment:

1. Set just three named alarms: "Breakfast", "Lunch: tablet in your pocket" and "Dinner".
2. Carry the midday dose in a small pill box in his work bag.
3. Use an app to tick each dose and switch on the reorder reminder a week before each box runs out.
4. After a month, review the record with his pharmacist: if the same dose keeps being missed, ask his doctor whether the timing can be adjusted.

If you also take several medicines, you may find our guide to tricks for remembering your medication useful.

How can IMA Health help you?

An alarm solves the "when", but not the "what". With IMA Health, a specialised pharmacy prepares your medication organised by the day and time of each dose (a personalised dosage system), so when the alert goes off you only need to open the matching pocket. IMA also coordinates with the pharmacy, delivers it to your home and provides personalised follow-up so you do not run out of treatment.

Sources

• Vervloet M. et al. The effectiveness of interventions using electronic reminders to improve adherence to chronic medication (JAMIA, 2012)
• Spanish Ministry of Health: Recommendations on medication reconciliation in primary care (2022)
• Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust: MedTap, tips for remembering your medicines

This article is for information only and does not replace advice from your doctor or pharmacist.