High tech pillbox helps patients stay on track with medications

For patients with complicated medical conditions, keeping track of which pills to take and at what times can be confusing.

As a result, studies find that about 50 percent of people with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure fail to take their medications as prescribed. That has major consequences, both in terms of patient health, and for avoiding costly hospital visits.

Lots of companies are working on this problem, trying to use technology to simplify the prescription process. That includes the Philadelphia-based startup TowerView Health. They are about to roll out an updated version of their device, a kind of smart pillbox.

“So our goal was to create a very simple service and provide that peace of mind to patients and their caregivers, that this would just be done for them,” said Rahul Jain, CEO of TowerView.

The company launched in 2014 after a colleague was diagnosed with leukemia, and realized just how hard it is to stay on top of a complicated pill schedule.

Unlike the original version, which Jain generously compares to a fishing tackle box, the new pillbox is white and slick, about the size of an iPad, with a slim light ring around its edges. Drugs arrive in the mail, pre-arranged in easy-to-open blister packs that slip into the case. Each 7-day supply is clearly labelled with the time of day you take it.

Read the full article here.

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