Some of the best features of the new iOS 16 update, which was rolled out on September 12, are impressive simply because they are practice-for example, you can *finally* mark a text as unread on your iPhone. And a new feature will be especially useful for anyone taking multiple medications (or caring for someone who takes them). In Apple’s Health app, you can now add a full list of your medications, set recurring reminders, mark medications as taken (with a timestamp), and share the information with those who may need to access it. such as family members or relatives. This is great news for those of us who often wonder, « Wait, did I take my pills? » this morning or am I thinking of yesterday morning?
To access the new feature, open the Health app, click the Browse button at the bottom right, then tap Drugs. From here, you can enter all the medications you take regularly (including non-prescription drugs and things you take as needed), along with important details like the dosage and time you take them.
Then you can select the form of the drug and its color, as well as a background color. (If you’re not sure what background color to choose, consider matching it to the bottle or container it’s in, or the product label.) These visual cues can help people, including those on a lot of medication and those with vision problems, quickly scan the list to figure out which medications they need to take (or just took), then save them.
You can also set reminders, which is useful if you often forget to take medicine or take it on time. These will appear on your home screen with a discreet message (which does not include any details of what the medicine is) prompting you to take and register your pill (or injection, nasal spray, etc.). (In comparison, when you use the native Alarms app to remind you to take your meds, there’s no way to log the dose or see what time, specifically, you ended up taking it.) You can set reminders by clicking on the Options tab under the medication list and make sure notifications are turned on.
There is also a section called Drug Interactions which alerts you if you are using two (or more) drugs that are potentially dangerous if taken together, and lets you know if drinking alcohol is potentially risky given the drugs you are taking. you take.
The medication function can also bring peace of mind to caregivers. If, for example, you have an elderly relative who is hundreds of miles away, they can share access with you so you can easily check if they are taking their medications regularly and on time. It’s also incredibly handy when checking out a new provider, especially in an emergency situation. You can show them a list of everything you take, regularly or as needed, by clicking the Export PDF button below the list of medications you have saved.
