Managing an elderly parents’ healthcare from afar is a challenging situation. That’s where Emacare comes in. We step in to help navigate, co-ordinate and ensure that all elements of your parent’s medical and health care management are organised and running smoothly. EMAcare’s extensive range of services include; consolidation and management of medical records, comprehensive patient and family intake, assessing medical needs, outlining long and short-term goals and patient advocacy and with our couples discount- you can’t go wrong!
One of the beauties of living in the 21st century is the endless supply of online tools and new-age products that are designed to de-stress healthcare management and make everyone lives easier- something especially appreciated when managing from afar. EMACare’s healthcare professionals are trained to help client’s choose the perfect tools to sustain long term ease and comfort with long-distance medical and healthcare management.
Here are a few of our favourite tools:
Mediminder
Simply put the Mediminder is an electronic pill dispenser, similar to the ones delivered from your pharmacy with added features that ensure the safety of our loved ones when they take their medication. The Mediminder was chosen due to simple design, family alert option and most importantly- its lock feature so the wrong medication is never taken.
Pros:
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- Audio reminder
- A phone call is made to the user if they are late taking their medication.
- Alert to family members/caregiver if the phone call is ineffective
- Lock feature so can’t open other pill compartments except the one needed (‘Jon’ model)
- Notifies caregiver if wrong medication taken (‘Maya’model)
- No limitations, regarding gel tablets, half pills or gummy medications
- System knows if the user takes out the pill cup -enhanced security
- Doesn’t need Wifi- suitable for the religious polulation
Cons:
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- Doesn’t organise the medication for you
- Doesn’t handle liquids or non-room temperature medications
- Doesn’t remind you for medications not in the product such as insulin
- It’s up the filler to ensure the routines entered into the portal match the pills put into the compartments
- Only allows for medication taken up to 4 times a day
Medisafe App
With so medication management apps its hard to choose a favourite! The Medisafe App was chosen due to its clear interface, alert sent to a family member if the user forgets to take their medication and drug interaction warnings. Bonus points were given to its other features such as videos and articles of your medications.
Pros:
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- Easy to enter medications
- Alert send 30 minutes after to ‘friend’ if the user forgot to take medication
- Easy to export history of medications and measurements
- Able to add other medical information ie: blood pressure levels and glucose levels
- Sever drug interaction warnings
Cons:
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- Need a smart phone
- No reminders to take blood pressure, glucose levels
Vaica- SimpleMed+
The SimpleMed+ is a smart medication dispenser. Its accompanying app is easy to use but needs a caregiver or pharmacist input. Once again we love the alert feature to a family member, which allows for remote management, especially important the elderly who’s children and family members live abroad.
Pros:
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- No Wifi or internet connection needed- suitable for the religious population
- Alert if incorrect cell is opened
- SMS alert if medication wasn’t taken
- Suitable for at home use or vacation use
- Remote programming so don’t need to rely on the elderly to separate and log their medication correctly ******
Cons:
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- Pill cup provided for pill extraction can be hard to handle for the elderly, and to flip over the medication dispenser requires 2 hands
- Require medications to be manually sorted into their appropriate compartment.
- Has to be recharged
- If remote programming not available- the pharmacist or caregiver has to do it ****
- Not travel friendly.
Hero automatic pill dispenser
If you are looking for something more sophisticated- Hero’s automatic pill dispenser is your thing! Not only does it separate the medication into the correct dosages, the accompanying app sends alerts to a family member (a must!) and is very easy to use physically- so its perfect for the elderly population.
Pros:
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- Physically easy to access your pills- good for the elderly, people with arthritis
- Holds 90 days supply of 10 different pills
- Prescription refill alert
- Safeguards against missed doses with both audible and visible alarm
- Separates the medication for you pills
- Alert sent to caregiver user misses a dose
Cons:
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- Costly- monthly membership fee
- Requires one year commitment for first year
- Large device
- Not suitable for liquid or powder medications
- Not recommended for people with dementia
- Needs Wifi
- Interface may not be suitable to for not-tech savy older individuals, requiring a caregiver to operate the settings
Caring village app
We saved the best for last!
The caring village app is exactly what it sounds like. It creates a community through which families, friends and caregivers can unit to provide a supportive environment and unified care for a loved one. All its features are designed to facilitate clear communication so nothing is overlooked.
Pros:
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- Wellness journal- keep updated on loved ones status
- Collaborative method- for family friends, caregivers and neighbours.
- Easily distribute responsibilities
- Chat feature
- Appointment tracker
- Medication management- including tracking refills
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Cons:
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- Not designed to have patients input