The Best Medication Reminders of 2023
Medication compliance is a serious problem – especially among older adults who battle with any number of difficulties from managing complicated medication regimes to impaired vision, arthritis, tremors or dementia.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, you're not alone.
The good news? New medication reminders, organizers, dispensers, alerts, planners and apps are making huge inroads in the safer consumption of prescription drugs.
To come up with our rankings, we reviewed, tried and tested a host of different medication compliance technologies. The result? A list of the best medication reminders and compliance devices available on the market today.
Best Medication Reminder Alarm
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Reminder Rosie is a hands free medication reminder that allows family caregivers to record and schedule up to 25 personalized voice messages. For example, "Dad, it's 1 PM. Take 2 red pills and one blue pill now." Loved ones hearing a familiar voice is comforting and increases medication compliance.
Product Features and Benefits:
- Up to 25 personalized voice reminders (family member records messages)
- Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or annual voice recorded playback reminders
- Control Rosie with voice or manual operation
- Doubles as a voice alarm clock
- Easy to see digital clock
- Great for everyone with medication regimes and for those with dementia
Who It's For:
- Those who need reminding
- Those with early stage dementia or Alzheimer's
Best Medication Reminder, Organizer and Pill Dispenser
Automated medication dispensing machines have increased medication compliance to a 98% adherence level – offering caregiver relief and peace of mind.
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The Hero is an all in one medication reminder, pill organizer and pill dispenser. It's our automated pill dispenser of choice. Other contenders were the Philips Lifeline medication dispenser, MedaCube, MedReady and MedMinder. However, none offered the simplicity, functionality, ease of use and affordability of the Hero for both user and caregiver alike. Here’s why we like it:
Product Features and Benefits:
- Easy to program medication schedule from mobile or desktop app
- Manages up to 10 medications, with 90 pills each
- Simple to load each medication into its own container
- Automatically sorts and dispenses medications based on schedule loaded onto app
- Easy to retrieve and remove medications from sturdy plastic container
- Multiple reminders including audible alarm, text and phone calls
- Caregiver also receive reminder notifications
- Notifies caregivers when loved ones are late or missed a dose
- Notifies caregivers when medications are running low and need to be refilled
- Hero also offers prescription medication delivery, for automatic refills
- Relatively affordable at $29.99 per month with $99.99 initiation fee
- Comes with 30 day free trial (and free return shipping), making it risk free to try and see if it makes a difference
Who It's For:
- Those who need reminding
- Those with complex medication regimes
- Those with poor vision
- Those with arthritis or poor manual dexterity
- Those with cognitive decline, memory impairment or early stage dementia / Alzheimer's
Best Medication Reminder and Pill Organizer
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MedCenter Pill Organizer with Reminder System
The MedCenter pill organizer and reminder system offers a great, affordable combination to ensure the right medications are taken at the right times. It organizes pills for a full month, and each day can be separated into 4 sections.
Great system, if caregiver or user is comfortable and or capable of manually sorting pills at the beginning of each month.
Product Features and Benefits:
- Program up to 4 alarms per day, beeping or voice reminder
- Digital clock with date and time
- 30 day pill organizer,
- Each day comes with it's own pill organizer with up to 4 compartments
Who It's For:
- Those who need reminding
- Those with complex medication regimens
- Those with good vision and good manual dexterity
- Those who can fulfill relatively complex tasks
Best Medication Reminder App
A good medication reminder app will tell you when to take which medications - simply and accurately – and increase the likelihood you stick to your regimen without forgetting a dose. Before spending a fortune on an automated solution, you might want to test to see if an app - who's basic versions are often free - does the trick.
The MediSafe app is the most popular medication app, with over 3.7 million downloads and is now a Google App Editor’s Choice winner – meaning people download it, keep it and use it. Oh, and it’s free! Here’s why it gets top marks:
Product Features and Benefits:
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- Easy to enter unlimited number of medications, with auto complete for long names
- Easy to enter unlimited number of times
- App shows a picture of which pill to take, for easy recognition and better compliance
- Let's family and caregivers track compliance
- Helpful rescheduling in case of missed doses
- Lock-screen reminder
- App educates on each medication taken
- App notifies of possible dangerous drug interactions
- App notifies which side effects to expect in first 24-48 hours
- Notifies caregivers when to refill prescriptions
- Uses machine learning to study missed doses and prompt user to call nurses hotline
- App can include users co-pay card and suggest patient assistance (discount) programs for certain medications
Who It's For:
- Those who have a smart phone and can use it proficiently
- Those who need reminding
- Those with complex medication regimens
Best Blister Pack Pill Organizer
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For those who don’t need supervision, remotely monitored medication dispensers and automated pill boxes are probably overkill. Instead, we’d recommend simply using the pharmacists 7 day medication planner blister packs, in combination with a free medication reminder app like Medisafe.
Most pharmacists offer free blister packs, like Dispill, which organize your pills by dose, by day, by week. Using this system prevents the risks associated with transferring your medications from the pharmacists packaging to your own pill box. There are several different types of pill organizers offered by pharmacists, and you should use the one that suits you and your pharmacist best.
Who It's For:
- Those with complex medication regimens
- Those who are cognitively fit
- Those with good manual dexterity
Victor Bonnucci
May 26, 2022 at 12:06 pm
Where is MedaCube on this list? Much safer, more comprehensive than your options. My mother takes a lot of meds, multiple times per day, just has difficulty remembering to take them. Her MedaCube can track, dispense, monitor and has the capacity to store her meds soI don't have to fill them weekly. It has been a godsend for us.
admin
June 1, 2022 at 1:04 pm
Thanks for the suggestion Victor, we'll take a look.
Kindest,
Seniorsafetyreviews Staff
Christina Atkinson
April 13, 2022 at 6:43 am
Need reminders to take pills for morning noon and evening. With a alarm to remind you of the time to take them on time. Don't know how to set it on my T Mobile.
admin
April 13, 2022 at 8:22 am
Hi Chritina,
Yes medication reminder clocks will be able to set multiple alarms throughout the day. So will many phones mind you. iPhones certainly has that capability. Perhaps you can have a friend or family member help you out on your phone before investing in a medication reminder.
Hope that helps,
Seniorsafetyreviews Staff
Lori Rogala
March 29, 2021 at 3:58 pm
I've been searching and searching for a product that is a rotary-nondigital timer that can be set for up to four hours. My father needs pain medication every four hours, but these hours vary from day to day, so simple "take this pill at 1pm every day" doesn't work. Sometimes my father will sleep longer, which is a positive thing,. He takes his pain pill first thing whenever he wakes up. So my elderly mother needs a timer that she can set for 4 hours, to remind her to give him his next pain medication. The only rotary type timers I see are kitchen counter ones, which would be perfect, except that they are all only for one hour. There are millions of digital devices and phone apps, none of which are user friendly enough for my mother. Help!!!
admin
March 29, 2021 at 4:08 pm
Hi Lori,
Given your need to adjust the schedule every day, why not have your mother use something like an Amazon Alexa device. On any given day, have her tell Alexa to set a medication reminder for 4 hours from the time he wakes up. For example, if he wakes up at 8AM, have your mother say, "Alexa, please set a medication reminder for 12PM, 4PM and 8PM today." Do you think something like that would help?
Kindest,
Trish
Erin
September 24, 2020 at 10:48 am
re: Dispill and other such packaging for medications. It is imprudent to suggest most pharmacists offer blister packaging, let alone free of charge. Many pharmacies do offer a service like this but for seniors/others to expect it at retail chains and for free is quite misleading.
Often there is a monthly fee associated with Dispill/Medication On Time/similar packaging. While I do not disagree with their advantages in med adherence, folks should be aware that not only may there be a fee associated with the use of these packaging systems, but the pharmacy they choose to use may not be considered "in-network" with their insurance plan and may incur higher copays.
Pamela
August 21, 2020 at 12:28 pm
I need a windows app for the PC that can be set to remind my kidney patient to drink 4 oz of water every 15 minutes.
So every 15 minutes the reminder will pop up attract his attention and stay there until he closes it.
Jennifer Sutton
March 12, 2019 at 9:09 am
Nice list! Some of those apps are really great. However, I'm still looking for an app that will combine not only pill reminder, but also other prescribtions reminders - as sports and meal, maybe even something else.
Leon Beckert
June 15, 2020 at 3:38 am
Hi Jennifer, I'm thinking of building something like that. Could you elaborate on what prescription reminders for sports and meal you were thinking of? I'd be really happy to hear what you think!