Take Charge of Your Health with the Care4Today Health Care Manager

In today’s fast-paced world, we can get pretty busy and overlook taking our medications at the right time every day.  After all, a medication is only as affective as how often you take it, making sure not to miss a dose in a given period of time.  There are many reasons people don’t take their medications, but the most commonly cited reason is that they simply forget.

A week ago, I had the opportunity to attend a Webinar with presenters from Healthcare Innovation and The Motherhood.  The Presenters included Founding Partner David Tripi; Commercial Trial Leader Carl Washburn; and Technology Manager Veronica Barajas.  It was a very interesting and insightful presentation.

What is the Care4Today Mobile Health Manager?

The Care4Today Mobile Health Manager is a versatile platform that enables two-way, secure messaging and is compatible with nearly all mobile devices and service providers, regardless of the operating system. Whether you download the app from the App Store or Google Play, or simply sign up on the website, you can use this app to receive reminders via text message and manage your health proactively. You don’t even need a smartphone to use the Care4Today Mobile Health Manager, and you can schedule reminders for prescriptions, over-the-counter medication, nutritional supplements, or regular visits to the walk-in clinic Baychester. It’s an innovative solution for anyone looking to manage their health, whether they are at home or on the go, and it’s available to all.

Check out these interesting statistics:

– Nearly 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug and more than half take two drugs

– Around 50% of patients with chronic illnesses don’t take their medications (In the U.S., medication-related hospitalizations, including admissions due to poor medication adherence, cost approximately $100 billion a year)

How to Register:

Registering is easy.  You can register from within the mobile application or the website.

1 – Click the “sign up” button.
2 – Click “accept” for the application, Terms of Use and privacy policy.
3 – Enter email address.
4 – Create a username and password.
5 – Answer a security question in case you forget the password in the future.
6 – Add a picture to personalize your profile.
7 – Click Sign Up.

How to Add Medication Reminders:

1 – Click “add medication” icon from the home screen or top left corner
2 – Type the first few letters of medication and it should pop up on the screen (if it’s not listed, you can add a custom medication in the drug database).
3 – Locate the name and image that matches your medication and select it (if it’s not in the database, you can upload your own picture).
4 – Enter remaining details to set up your reminder, including dose and frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, X times a week, and many other options)
5 – Customize the reminder message (by default, “Time to take your medication“), which will show up as the alert on your phone (i.e. “Time to take your Tylenol”).
6 – Upon receiving a notification, simply click on the medication icon to indicate that you have taken  your medication (or respond to the text message you receive), and the progress will be added to your adherence report.  **Note: Adherence percentage is calculated by the number of doses that have been self-reported as taken divided by the number of self-directed doses scheduled.

How to Add Refill Reminders:

Set refill reminders based on:

– Quantity: allows you to count down your medications, and the application will alert you before you run out

– Refill date: select the date you would like to be reminded for a refill

– Enter the refill and current quantities, the amount of leeway time you would like for your reminder, and then add the name and number of pharmacy so you can call from within the application

Two new features for the Care4Today™ Mobile Health Manager:

1 – Care4Family™

Care4Family™ gives family members and loved ones the ability to support one another by monitoring their medications and encouraging them to stay on schedule

– Four in ten adults in the U.S. are caring for an adult or child with significant health issues, and more than 25% of children in the U.S. take medications to treat ongoing health conditions
— By linking to other Care4Today™ Mobile Health Manager users, family members will receive a notification if their loved ones fail to take their medications. Once alerted, family members can call or text their loved ones to encourage them to stay on schedule
— Family members who are connected via Care4Family™ can also share their progress with one another or a healthcare provider

How to use the Care4Family™ feature:

– Invite family member to connect accounts in the mobile app (search for them, then click “follow” and accept the terms of use)

– Once connected, edit notifications and reports you want to receive from them

– Reports are also provided for family
— Green— all doses on time
— Yellow – late or skipped doses
— Red – missed all doses
— Can share reports with healthcare provider from this screen

Care4Charity™

– Care4Charity™ gives people who take care of their own health the opportunity to make a positive difference in the world
– Users can select one of the three charities (below) to receive a donation from Janssen Healthcare Innovation for each day they indicate they have taken all of their medications
— American Diabetes Association
— AIDS United
— Save the Children

JHI has committed a minimum donation of $20,000 to each charity, and a maximum additional donation of $90,000 to all of them combined – for a maximum total donation of $150,000

Can you talk about a few examples of how the Care4Family™ feature is most useful?

We know that 40% of adults are caring for an aging parent or a child with significant health issues. A lot of times, family members are living in a different state or independently from a loved one with a medical regimen that they want to follow.

Another scenario is if your child is taking medication. You can set up their reminders on your account and have the notification go to either their phone or yours. You don’t have to have a smartphone, but notifications can be sent via text messages to alert you or your child when a medication needs to be taken. (If the medication is not taken, you can get a notification to your phone and then text or call your child to remind them!)

You can also be creative in using it for your family. I use it for my son to remind him to take out the trash and for my daughter for reminders about practicing flute!

Are you considering other charities for the Care4Charity™ feature?

Yes, the Care4Charity™ feature is a pilot for now. We want to see if it makes a difference and motivates people, but we are already looking at adding other charities to the list.

Can you schedule EpiPen reminders and expiration dates?

Yes, EpiPen is in the database with an image. You can set the notifications up the reminder in the settings. You can set them up as needed – daily, weekly, monthly.

Can you put multiple family members on the same account?

You can add their notifications on your own account. But with the Care4Family™ feature, every person can have their own account and you can connect with up to 15 family members.

Can I send notifications to multiple physicians?

You can send your reports to anyone. You aren’t able to send the alerts or notifications to the physicians, but you can send the reports. A great part of using this application on the mobile device is that you can turn it around and show a physician in the office if you wanted to!

Can I edit notifications for medications that taper off over time? Can I change alerts as prescriptions change?

For right now, that would be up to the user to go in and edit the notifications schedules.

Can the app track things for a first time mom, for instance, the baby’s temperature?

That feature is not in there right now. But as this mobile application is evolving, we are constantly updating it! We would love to add temperature and even mood or other symptoms.

Who would benefit from the Care4Today App in your home?