THE ESSENTIAL
- 34% of French people who follow a treatment forget to take a medicine from time to time.
- The pill box, alarms, apps and habit stacking can help you remember to take your pills.
A third of French people following regular treatment admit to forgetting to take one of their medications from time to time, according to an Ifop survey for the companies Elan Edelman and Mylan carried out in 2017. Diabetes, hypertension, cancer… Depending on the disease treated, this inattention can have serious health consequences for patients.
“Taking medication is complex because each person is unique and the challenges of taking each person’s treatment can vary greatly”recognizes Amelia Cossart, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Queensland in her article published in the medical journal The Conversationon December 5, 2022. She shared 4 ways to stop neglecting your pill boxes.
The pill box: the most common method to remember your treatment
The pill box has been part of the daily lives of patients for centuries. This object, which makes it possible to store precise doses of medication by day or time of day, is still the method most used to support adherence to treatment. However, the Australian expert acknowledges: “they are not always suitable: if the user does not fill the container correctly or does not remember to remove the pre-filled pack from the pharmacy, this tool quickly becomes ineffective”.
In addition, the pill box is not suitable for all medications (eg liquids). In addition, patients with reduced sight or dexterity or even those who have difficulty finding their bearings in time, are likely to have difficulty using it, and ultimately not take the prescribed pills.
Alarms: a sound “medication memo”
If the pill box isn’t for you, you can set alarms on your watch or phone. “Reminder alarms only seem effective when interactive or personalized”warns the researcher.
“You can now buy automated pill dispensers with alarms that go off at pre-determined times and only stop when the medicine is removed. These can be particularly useful for people with memory problems such as dementia”adds the expert.
The mobile application: it is also suitable for short-term treatments
Fans of new technologies also have the option of turning to mobile apps. Although the platforms differ slightly, they often work similarly: the patient enters their pill-taking and prescription refill schedule, and the tool sends automatic reminders when the time is right.
“Medication reminder apps were first developed to help seniors and people with chronic conditions manage multiple medications, specifies Amelia Cossart in her article. But they have now been adopted as a suitable support for anyone wishing to independently manage their own medications, including short-term ones such as antibiotics.”
But, one of the disadvantages of this solution is that it is easy to ignore the notification.
Stacking habits: integrating taking medication into your routine
A last-minute meeting at work, a lunch with friends… When our schedule is hit by the unexpected, it’s easy to forget to take your medicine. And… it must be recognized, daily life is often disrupted by unplanned events. For the researcher, this is why it is interesting for the chronically ill to adopt the stacking of habits.
This involves linking taking a treatment to a behavior that does not change from one day to the next, such as brushing your teeth, taking a shower or taking off your shoes when entering the house.
