Medication Management – integrated medication dispensing system & compliance monitor
PSL is working with development partners to address the serious national healthcare problem of errors in medication management, especially amongst the elderly. PSL’s Pillminder system will gather information on individual and region-wide medication compliance that will facilitate intervention decisions by carers and medical practitioners, and balance resource allocation by healthcare administration authorities. Medication non-compliance amongst patients with long term conditions results in considerable expense to health authorities, due to additional medical interventions (GP or hospital visits), and increased demands on carer time, to encourage compliance. Successful management of long term conditions requires a thorough understanding of the individual’s needs and behaviours and optimised use of carer time to maximise the probability of compliance.
Pillminder is an integrated medication dispensing system and compliance monitor, which can be tailored to most forms of medication. In common with existing dispensing systems, the Pillminder both stores medication and provides medication alerts to the user. In contrast to existing systems, the Pillminder records and maintains a history of the medication events, including the desired medication time, the time at which medication was actually dispensed, and any missed medications. The data recorded by the Pillminder system is a powerful resource for carers, medical practitioners and health authorities. The data specific to an individual will allow a carer to note patterns in the individual’s behaviour. These include forgetting to take medications when they attend a local club, or missing the late evening medication due to falling asleep before it was due. The system will allow the carer to suggest appropriate interventions, also prompting other club members to remind individuals to take their medication, or visiting the individual during the evening.
The Pillminder concept can be applied to pill or liquid dispensers, and, with the addition of a mobile communications module, will support users with time-critical medication schedules. When a medication alert is missed, Pillminder can automatically contact a call-centre or a specific carer, who can take appropriate action. Addition of a locator module will also inform the call centre of the location of the Pillminder, potentially allowing the individual to be located, if necessary. Pillminder can conform to easily portable form factors, encouraging independence and integration with the local community without concerns over missed medications.
A Smartphone App for Medication Management
For the latest Pillminder development please download our PowerPoint Presentation
Progress with this PSL development will be regularly reported via this website.
LATEST
Collaboration in progress with allied companies, universities and research organisations in UK, EU, USA, NZ, and ROK, with interest from several others.
Letter of support received from Barts & The London Hospital (BTL).
Partnership Agreement signed with well-established Medical Practice in Melbourne, Aust.
SPONSORS
UK Government-sponsored SEHTA grant received, to develop cardiovascular technology with Surrey University.
Represented UK Healthcare Technology Industry at MTANZ medical technology annual conference in Auckland, NZ.