Coordinated Care System for Medication Adherence
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for medication adherence in elderly patients are inadequate, particularly for those with multiple chronic conditions and dexterity, vision, and hearing issues, as they often require proximity to visual or auditory reminders and have limited smartphone usage.
Innovation Solution
A Coordinated Care System (CCS) that includes a patient wearable device (PWD) with a display screen, audio capabilities, and user input mechanisms, along with a caregiver mobile app and webserver, providing visual and audible medication reminders, real-time connectivity, and integration with pharmacies and healthcare providers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing medication adherence devices use LED lights or sound beeps for reminders, then patients can receive medication reminders, but patients must be in close proximity to see lights or hear beeps, causing missed reminders when patients are away
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a wireless communication intermediary (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or cellular network) between the medication adherence device and the patient's smartphone. The device sends reminder notifications wirelessly to the smartphone, which then alerts the patient regardless of proximity. This intermediary eliminates the need for the patient to be physically close to the device while maintaining reliable reminder delivery.
2Ease of operation
If smartphone apps are used for medication reminders, then reminders can be delivered remotely, but less than 10% of seniors 75 years and older use smartphones and many get confused navigating complex menus
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically manages medication reminder schedules, notifications, and alerts without requiring the patient to navigate complex menus or configure settings. The device and smartphone app handle all operations autonomously, sending reminders based on pre-configured medication schedules. This self-service approach eliminates the need for seniors to interact with complex interfaces while maintaining remote delivery capability.
3Reliability
If a comprehensive coordinated care system with webserver and multiple integrations is implemented, then medication adherence monitoring and connectivity are enhanced, but device and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into distinct modular components: a simple wearable or desktop medication adherence device, a smartphone app for notifications, and a cloud-based coordinated care platform for data aggregation and analysis. Each component performs a specific function independently, reducing the complexity burden on any single device while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capability through their coordinated interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of supporting user adherence to a medication regimen includes storing received medication information associated with one or more medications using a patient wearable device and a coordinated care platform. The method also includes displaying identification and dosing information associated with the medications, generating a notification indicating that the identification information is being displayed, monitoring a response input indicating that the medications have been administered. For each of the one or more medications displayed, the method includes generating a medication status describing that either (i) the medication has been administered or (ii) the response has not been received. The method further includes generating a reminder notification when the medication status indicates that the response has not been received. The method may further include gathering behavioral data points associated with the user for submission to the coordinated care platform, which performs predictive analytics based on the data points.