New 'smart' medication dispensing device

Sensibly, American Medical Alert Corp. (AMAC)'s  press release announcing its new medication dispensing device starts by stating the huge problem of medication non-compliance. ("Medication non-compliance is becoming one of the most expensive and deadly problems in healthcare today. Hospital costs due to patient non-compliance are estimated at $8.5 billion annually. And with more than 300,000 deaths annually resulting from non-compliance...) This is a message co-incidently reinforced in a BMJ article this week by Carl May, Victor M Montori, and Frances S Mair: We need minimally disruptive medicine. (Summary only, except to subscribers.)

So how does the AMAC device improve on the other medication reminder systems available?

AMAC is claiming several advantages:

• Size and weight: The device is about half the size of a frisbee and weighs about 2 pounds (1 kilo)
• Portability: The device is both battery and mains operated and the battery power and size makes it easily portable
• Alerts. The device has an extended range of alert notifications for the person and caregivers

Read more of the features on the AMAC website.