10/20/2008 , 10:02 AM by Alex Sicre
As has happened in the past, Dr. Showalter from AlignMap has written a better and more thoughtful post about the future of robotic medication adherence assistance than I did last week.
Dr. Showalter’s post reminds me (as our emails about blogging have in the past) that I sometimes only “report” what I find, not adding anything of merit with my own thoughts, observations, etc…. Also that I do not add any visuals.
I thank Dr. Showalter for his great additions to my previous two posts regarding medication adherence and healthcare robots, as well as adding a personal real world context for the use of these aids.
He also referenced his own blog post about a Tamagotchi-style Pill Pet reminder that I never saw. It alerts patients when to take their pills and when to go to the MD. If the patient is not adherent, the Pill Pet get sicks and eventually dies. This aids adherence by hopefully making the patient care more about the health of a robotic pet than their own.
I will close with Dr. Showalter’s favorite compliance program:
1. RoboCop (Dr. RoboCop to you) presents the healthcare instructions.
2. RoboCop enhances compliance with his trademark line, which also serves as the Program’s slogan: “You have 20 seconds to comply.”
Of course it is cooler and has more effect on the AlignMap blog as he has visuals and audio!
10/14/2008 , 10:09 AM by Alex Sicre
I found this blurb in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare about another home robot to improve medication adherence:
“We have developed a prototype home robot to improve drug compliance. The robot is a small mobile device, capable of autonomous behaviour, as well as remotely controlled operation via a wireless datalink. The robot is capable of face detection and also has a display screen to provide facial feedback to help motivate patients and thus increase their level of compliance. An RFID reader can identify tags attached to different objects, such as bottles, for fluid intake monitoring. A tablet dispenser allows drug compliance monitoring. Despite some limitations, experience with the prototype suggests that simple and low-cost robots may soon become feasible for care of people living alone or in isolation.”
Like my previous post about the Carebot, this is pretty creepy, but it can be the future of home eldercare. Think of I, Robot. I do not see how this can work right now, unless a trust level is developed between the patient and the robot. I can imagine a patient ignoring the robot, unless the patient is already engaged in their medication regime, and needs the help to remember.
I’ll be interested to see how this rolls out and how their clinical trials improve medication adherence.
