Medication Management on a Netbook

One of the presenters at the Silvers Summit at the January 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, was Michael Takemura, HP, Director of Accessibility & Aging Program.

This Summit was a special Senior-focused part of the CES tradeshow, that showcased the products and services that keep older adults engaged, entertained, connected, and healthy. Michael talked about the Microsoft/HP/ Senior PC offering (around 3:50 minutes into his video#2) and OnTimeRx was the "prescription reminder software" that he briefly mentioned. Michael also showcased OnTimeRx software in the HP exhibit and says it went over well.

He also talked about the new new HP mini 1000 Netbook, and this little gem has tremendous potential for older patients, who prefer to age in place.

Let me tell you why...

Back in the early days of hand held computers, PDAs were mainly used as organizers, but I always knew they made great assistive devices with OnTimeRx software onboard. Unfortunately, this technology and OnTimeRx software was about 10-15 years ahead of its time!

People are just now beginning to realize that Palms can do amazing things... just as Palm Corporation decides to stop making any more Palm OS devices!! However, there are over 40 million Palm devices out there somewhere (probably in desk drawers/deader than a doornail) but they could still be put to use as a reliable medication reminder.

But, as my son always says, I dye grass...

Say Hello to the adorable Netbook! This is the new "darling" in personal computing and for only $300-$400, I'm extremely excited about the amazing array of things it can do for seniors and their caregivers.

With an Internet connection in the Senior's home, the Netbook can be used to send and receive email, surf the Web, do online shopping, and basically stay in touch with the family through social networks like Twitter.

With a PCAnywhere type program installed, a family member can access the Netbook to check on compliance or change a medication schedule, and provide "tech support" remotely. It's almost as good as being there.

I'll tell you more things you can do with a Netbook, after I learn my way around a bit more.

...Stay tuned!

Technology Rocks for Caregivers

Nearly every health care problem has a technology solution.

Managing medications isn't easy for anyone. It's confusing and one of the most stressful tasks that family caregivers have to deal with.

It's well known that thousands of patients and caregivers struggle to stick to complex medication schedules every day. But it doesn't have to be that way!

Nurses, and other professional caregivers use specialized tools to make their job easier. Family caregivers are at a definite disadvantage. No training and no idea where to find the tools and/or training that could help.


NEW CONSULTATION SERVICE

What's really sad is that so many helpful caregiver tools are "out there", but many don't even think to look for help. I suspect that a lot of people who do surf the 'net, simply don't know what to look for, or they can't determine what they really need, even if they do happen to stumble upon helpful sites.

With over 40 years of experience (18 years running the pharmacy in a 400-bed skilled care nursing facility in Florida), I am well-qualified to take your questions and offer suggestions and affordable solutions for very specific caregiving situations.

Click on the little green Online Consult button in the upper right corner of this blog to get started.

Seniors and others with various disabilities, could use simple technology, and online consultations are a great way to chat about your specific problems and find the answers you need.

Why struggle another day? Ask Susan!

Q & A for Using Technology in Healthcare

"Do you have any questions? I've got all the answers ...as long as you ask the right questions."

I often used that one-liner to open many a dialogue about managing medications, when I was working as a retail pharmacist. I was always readily accessible to my pharmacy patients. That comes with the territory.

But it's interesting that very few people ask questions on their own about their prescriptions - or about much of anything when it comes to their own health care. Wonder why that is? Maybe they don't really understand why the drug was ordered and don't want to look stupid or foolish? Possibly, but pharmacists are a rich resource of information and most of us love the opportunity to answer real patient questions. ;D

Now that I'm an entrepreneur/software developer, my "territory" is literally the world, but I'm trying to use new online technology to achieve that same level of accessibility for my software customers (and I still consider them my "patients").

Through a Twitter friend or some other blog contact, (not really sure now), I learned about LivePerson.com and decided to check it out. It's an online informational service that matches people who have questions about a particular topic with a list of potential experts in that field.

I was impressed with what I saw and decided to give it a try. You can check out my LivePerson profile or simply click on the OnlineConsult button on this website to learn more.

This new venture is pretty exciting because I think it will enable me to reach - and help - more patients who have been silently struggling with their drug regimen issues.

I truly hope so anyway.

Service Dogs as Caregivers

Service Dogs are
TOTALLY AWESOME!!! ...
What a "warm and fuzzy" concept in caregiving.



It's truly amazing how many tasks these animals can perform for their owners.


OnTimeRx medication reminders can perform some helpful reminder tasks for people and their animals, too.

A long-time user of OnTimeRx manages a support website for owners of Service Dogs. This young lady has to manage multiple medications to treat her own health problems and at the same time, she's ultimately responsible for the care, health, and well-being of her own service dog. It's impressive how well she manages everything and even has time to go out and help promote OnTimeRx at the various conventions she attends (with her trusty service dog, of course.)


One of the most challenging dosage requirements is managing medications taken every 4 hours "as needed". This is a complex schedule to automate, because computers have no way of knowing when a drug will be needed. OnTimeRx has a unique method of scheduling such medications, which is explained in our User's Manual under Item#5 - the Hourly/PRN dosing routine. This method allows the user to log a dose and then automatically set an alarm for the next allowed dose (in 4 hours). As that next dose is logged, another alarm can be schedule for the next allowed dose, and so on.

This feature is especially helpful for managing pain medications, as this user comment indicates:

Richard Hamilton, a nurse says: 6/7/2006
"I found this software after I had a heart attack, and I highly recommend it to anyone. It's easy to use and very handy with the desk top program. Besides my heart meds, I am also a chronic pain patient and must take as many as 15 different meds at all different times. Thanks to OnTimeRx, I have missed none. My doctors think your program is great, too."

Many dedicated OnTimeRx users attest to the intuitiveness of all the features, and the overall usefulness and flexibility of OnTimeRx reminders. While Service Dogs are very smart, they cannot manage everything on their own - even with the help of OnTimeRx. They must rely on their owner's to remember to give them their medications so they can stay healthy.

Service Dogs provide a unique combination of companionship and caregiving and deserve all the LOVE and RESPECT we humans can give them.

Let's Hope Obama Really Cares

A recent New York Times Editorial, "Caring for the Caregivers", concisely states why I'm so passionate about this topic.

Home health aides are vital to the health and well-being of many families in the US, and must be treated with care themselves. The work they do is difficult, tiring, and frustrating; and at the end of the day, the pay is often inadequate or unjustly withheld by unscrupulous home health agencies who hire undocumented workers.

Family members who provide home care for aging parents or other relatives represent another valuable resource that must be nurtured - not squandered. Family caregivers are by far the most cost effective means of dealing with a major health care problem in this country, but they can easily find themselves suffering from burn-out in this stress-prone situation. These people need our support and Congress and the Obama Administration must find a way to provide funding to help sustain the health of these caregivers. Some funds are available to pay for respite care, but I would bet very few family caregivers would have any idea how to apply for such assistance.

Let's hope that the health care reforms planned by the Obama Administration will recognize the value and support the needs of the family caregiver.

Sci-Fi meets "Little Shop of Horrors"!!

Lots of people dread dental appointments but I actually look forward to mine. It's always a learning experience.

My dental hygeinist knows I'm passionate about patient compliance and she shared the "latest" drug delivery method that she learned about recently. It's a Doozie!

Apparently, some geniuses have developed a new dental implant as a method of delivering drugs around the clock. (We've all heard of the handy cyanide pellet in a tooth, but this implant is supposed to help keep people alive.)

As I understand it, this "custom made tooth/drug dispenser" has tiny slits which allow the drug to leach out into the buccal or sublingual area on a 24-hour sustained-release basis. This way the patients won't have to remember to take pills. He just has to have some teeth missing to make room for the implant.

At first blush, it sounded like a fairly interesting approach to a huge problem... but lots of issues come to mind. While this might work OK for one drug, what happens if problems occur - a side effect develops - and/or the drug dosage changes? Do they have to jank the tooth?

From my experience, the people who are most non-compliant usually are supposed to be taking several drugs throughout the day. Does this mean they'll need a full set of special drug-leaching dentures? Also, how does the patient get a "refill" - or refills! He's not going to be able to call the pharmacy and have a new set waiting - that's for sure! And we haven't even begun to address the COST!!!

Honestly, it's interesting, but this doesn't sound like a very practical solution to me. I'll take OnTimeRx reminders any day, thank you very much. Then my doctors can change my medications as my medical needs change and I'll still be able to manage very nicely.