Background

It is a well-known fact that many patients forget to take their medication. The medicine box named DoseCan, which is a part of DoseSystem, is equipped with alarm functions and reminds patients to take their medication. When taken correctly, the patient presses an OK button placed on the electronic medicine box. The OK message then goes directly to the caregiver's smartphone or some other device.
 

This means that the system DoseSystem not only reminds the citizen to take his medication but also allows the nursing staff to monitor the patient's medication intake. In addition, the DoseSystem prompts citizens to remember other tasks such as to drink, eat or go to the toilet. The DoseSystem may also notify relatives if the patient misses a dose of his medication.

The DoseSystem can thus assist citizens and healthcare professionals either in the citizen's own home or at care centres. Using the DoseSystem, citizens become more independent and self-reliant in relation to their own medication and other tasks supported by the DoseSystem.

Purpose/Vision

The purpose of this project is to take the development of the DoseSystem a step further by adjusting it to the German market through an extended market validation that will generate data applicable to the project and the intended product development.

Activities in the project:

• Collecting data from a market validation
• Adjusting the DoseSystem to the German market.

Expected Results

The project will result in a DoseSystem that can be used in home care as well as at care centres in Germany where it is expected to result in:

• Fewer adverse incidents caused by forgotten medication
• Fewer unplanned visits to citizens who seek assistance with administration of medication
• Optimized caregiver workflows
• Optimization of time spent with the citizens
• Increased security for citizens and their relatives

Economic and professional benefits achieved from the project:

• Reduced number of hours set aside for medicine administration
• Improved use of resources
• Fewer hours spent on documentation and management of adverse incidents
• More citizens become partially or completely self-reliant
• Improved health for citizens as a result of greater security in relation to correct medication handling
• Improved working environment of care staff as a result of greater security in relation to administration of medication and less stress
• Improved quality of medication handling, which may eventually provide better health
• Improving the relatives' sense of safety in terms of medication management.

Twelve care centres have so far tested the system with a positive result, and about 25 municipalities are already using the system. In total, 30 municipalities are using/have tried the DoseSystem. The DoseSystem solution is generating economic benefits in the range of 25,500 DKK per citizen/year on average.