Dosage reminder cap

Abstract

A dosage reminder cap provides an easy, effective way to track consumption of medication. A rotating disk provides a tool for marking the either last dose taken or the next dose due to be taken of a prescribed medication in order to facilitate proper consumption of the medication.

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY [0001] This application claims priority of prior provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 631,950 filed Nov. 30, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates generally to medicine containers, and more particularly to a dosage reminder cap for prescription medicine containers providing an indication of when the next dose of medicine is due and facilitating tracking of the last dose dispensed from the container. BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0003] All prescription medications are accompanied by a doctor's directions for the frequency and amount of each dose to be consumed by a patient. Many medications must be taken daily in order to be effective, some at multiple intervals during the day. Other medications are only taken as needed, but a patient or care giver needs to know when the last dose was taken to prevent over-dosing. Some of the hazards associated with incorrect consumption, commonl...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010] The hexagon shape of the cap prevents the container from rolling and falling off the surface upon which it was placed. The hexagon shape also makes the cap easier to grip and therefore easier to open. The cap is further equipped with a child safety feature for deterring a child from removing the cap from the container and thereby gaining access to the contents thereof.

Problems solved by technology

Some of the hazards associated with incorrect consumption, commonly called noncompliance, of medications include prolonged illness, ineffectiveness of the medicine, hospitalization, commitment into a nursing home facility, and death.

All of the aforementioned hazards eventually result in increased health care costs to patients and society as a whole.

Each of these devices has limitations.

Devices that track only the day of the week do not provide any way to track multiple doses per day, unless the medicine is packaged in a foil-lined packet.

A foil-lined packet with multiple doses per day is impractical when there are two or more doses per day, because a prescription for longer than a few days requires a package of considerable size, even for the smallest of pills.

Although such containers are common, they violate the legal requirement that medications must be stored in properly labeled containers.

In addition to the labeling requirement, there are no child safety features and no remedy for displacement of medication, for example falling out of the container; mixing of the doses of medication; or incorrectly dispensing the medication into the container.

Devices that track the number of times a container is opened present several difficulties.

Devices currently available do not provide for opening the container and not taking a dose.

Further, there is nothing to help track when the last dose was taken or when the next dose is due, and no way of tracking the quantity of medicine dispensed when the container was opened.

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