Samjhana Android: An Application to Promote Medication Adherence among Senior Citizens 

Abstract

Medication adherence refers to the degree or extent to which a patient takes the right medication at the right time according to a doctor‟s prescription. Lack of proper medication adherence has resulted in various health issues. This problem is seen mostly among the senior citizens due to their inability to remember the proper dosage and proper time to take the medication. Samjhana Android is designed in order to overcome the issue of medical adherence in the senior citizens. The system provides notification regarding the intake of proper dosage of medication at the right time. The system is designed such that the caretaker can schedule the proper dosage of the medicine and the time to take the medicine. Based on this information, the system sends reminder to the patient. In conditions where patient fails to take medicine, the system automatically sends SMS to the caretaker informing him/her that the patient has failed to take the medication. Besides this the system also keeps track of the patient‟s remaining medicine amount, informing when the refill is required. Samjhana is a step towards improving the health condition of the senior citizens by improving medication adherence rate. It provides assurance that the patient is taking the medicine properly. Many such systems have been developed; however Samjhana distinguishes itself as being senior citizen friendly and its support for native Nepali language.