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Medication Management Guide: Tools & Strategies

This is the home page for our research into medication management tools, including pill reminder apps, other types of pill reminders and pill organizers, complex medication management systems, and related topics such as maintaining a correct medication list.

We have initiated this project, because imperfect medication adherence is one of the leading causes of premature institutionalization of older adults. And thus for older adults who want to live in their own homes as long as possible, taking medications correctly is a very important topic.

There are a variety of tools for this purpose, and in this research topic we explore a number of them, seeking to understand which tools work best for specific types of people and specific life circumstances.

In addition, our Longevity Explorers have had a number of discussions of the whole topic of managing medication, and as a result we have developed some intriguing insights into how older adults manage their medications today, what they think their challenges are in this context, and what they do and do not see as “problems to be fixed“.

Our analyst team and the Longevity Explorers are researching topics like:

  • Which is the best pill reminder app?
  • How do different older adults approach tracking and managing their medications?
  • Which pill organizers do our Longevity Explorers like best, and why?
  • Which automatic pill dispensers work best for manging medication adherence for a person with Alzheimer’s?
  • Of the wide variety of available medication management systems, which work best in various different circumstances, and which features are most relevant for specific life situations.

Below you will find the research and exploration we have done so far.

 

 

Featured Research

Automatic Pill Dispensers under Evaluation

Automatic Pill Dispenser Evaluations: Hands-on

Automatic pill dispensers can help when a person has trouble adhering to their medication regimen, or when filling pill boxes with complex combinations of pills becomes a burden. Learn which products are best for various personas, life situations, and physical and cognitive conditions.

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Pill Box and Pill Organizer collection

Best Pill Organizer: Older Adults Recommend

There are many, many pill boxes and pill organizer solutions to choose from in your local drugstore or on Amazon. Unsurprisingly, not all of them are equally good. The Longevity Explorers have strong views about what to look for in a pill box. Here are their recommendations, and a list of the “things to watch for”.

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Older Adult Perspectives on Managing Medications

Learn what older adults themselves think about the challenges of medication management. Listen to discussions about the things our explorers care about; how they approach managing their medications; which products they prefer (the best pill organizers, and most successful pill reminder techniques); and what problems they face.

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medication management technology for alzheimers

Technology for Managing Medication in Dementia

Watch this talk on technology for medication management by Dr Caro and Dr Renfro. It covers different available technologies to help minimize medication errors, especially for Alzheimer’s sufferers. It also covers some “unmet needs and opportunities” relating to medication adherence.

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Additional Research in this Topic Hub

Curated References: Managing Medication

Here are some references from around the web that our analyst team thinks are worth exploring if you want to learn more about managing medication — beyond the sort of things we cover here.

Most of these references focus on getting the right list of medications, rather than on how to organize and remember to take the medications on time.