Tips for Health Activists: sTweet Reminders for Medication
Do you or someone you know need help remembering to take medicines at the right times each day?
Those with chronic medical conditions often find this a very difficult part of their life. On a personal level, some medicines make me very forgetful, so remembering when and what or how much to take can be a huge obstacle in my life because forgetting something can mean an emergency run to the hospital. I was saving to invest in an expensive reminder watch to keep me on schedule, until the day I heard my husband's phone go off...
"Oh," he said, "it's just you tweeting me again."
The light went on in the bubble over my head as I solved a really big issue in our family. I'm sharing it with Health Activists in my blog so they might pass it along to others who may benefit from my new use of text messaging which utilizes pre-scheduled tweets on Twitter. There are many Health Activists who are much smarter than I am... maybe someone can share an even better idea!
Only 50-60 percent of patients take their prescribed medicines correctly. Shocking? I thought so. Before my last vacation this is what I came up with to keep me in the other 40-50 percent... my family dubbed them my "sTweet Reminders".
Many people have phones with alarms that can remind them all through the day, however I know I'm not the only person out here with only a few alarm options on my phone. Others like me may have a schedule that changes from day to day, making changing the alarm something of a process. This method also allows you to send reminders remotely, so my husband at work can remember something and tweet it to me via my phone. In my case, by using Twitter we bypass the fees associated with texting. Remembering meds that I only take weekly or bi-weekly is a challenge that is now much easier as well. Additionally, this method allows you to "check in" when you have taken your medicine - a definite plus for others like me whose days meld together and we forget if we actually took what was needed, or when.
Do you have trouble with remembering to take medications as I do?
Do you have ways of coping with medication scheduling you could share?
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 Remember your medicines - 3 steps to sTweet Reminders
Those with chronic medical conditions often find this a very difficult part of their life. On a personal level, some medicines make me very forgetful, so remembering when and what or how much to take can be a huge obstacle in my life because forgetting something can mean an emergency run to the hospital. I was saving to invest in an expensive reminder watch to keep me on schedule, until the day I heard my husband's phone go off...
"Oh," he said, "it's just you tweeting me again."
The light went on in the bubble over my head as I solved a really big issue in our family. I'm sharing it with Health Activists in my blog so they might pass it along to others who may benefit from my new use of text messaging which utilizes pre-scheduled tweets on Twitter. There are many Health Activists who are much smarter than I am... maybe someone can share an even better idea!
Only 50-60 percent of patients take their prescribed medicines correctly. Shocking? I thought so. Before my last vacation this is what I came up with to keep me in the other 40-50 percent... my family dubbed them my "sTweet Reminders".
Many people have phones with alarms that can remind them all through the day, however I know I'm not the only person out here with only a few alarm options on my phone. Others like me may have a schedule that changes from day to day, making changing the alarm something of a process. This method also allows you to send reminders remotely, so my husband at work can remember something and tweet it to me via my phone. In my case, by using Twitter we bypass the fees associated with texting. Remembering meds that I only take weekly or bi-weekly is a challenge that is now much easier as well. Additionally, this method allows you to "check in" when you have taken your medicine - a definite plus for others like me whose days meld together and we forget if we actually took what was needed, or when.
Do you have trouble with remembering to take medications as I do?
Do you have ways of coping with medication scheduling you could share?
Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2 Remember your medicines - 3 steps to sTweet Reminders
Tags: chronic disease, chronic pain, disease management, health care, medication, physician, reminder, twitter
Add a Comment
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Comment by Marie on November 10, 2009 at 4:19pm - I just came across this study about how text messages helped pediatric liver transplant patients adhere to their medication schedules...pretty exciting stuff! Thought you might enjoy it: http://www.ihealthbeat.org/articles/2009/11/6/study-text-messages-boost-young-patients-medication-adherence.aspx
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Comment by Ellen S on October 20, 2009 at 10:04am - Diana of Somebody Heal Me has posted about Memo to Me - a service that emails you appointments etc. See her post for more terrific information!
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