Apps that reward you for taking your medication on time

How medication rewards work in AHEALTH

1. Set medication reminders in the app for the medicines you take.
2. Take your dose as prescribed. When a reminder goes off, take the medicine the way your label, doctor or pharmacist tells you to.
3. Log the dose. You earn points when you log a dose.
4. Redeem your points. In the U.S., open the Gift Shop and redeem points for email gift cards from more than 25 brands, including Amazon, Walmart and Target. Gift cards start at $5 (Amazon and Dunkin') and usually arrive by email within 1 to 3 days. Some take longer.

Point amounts differ by habit and can change over time. Medication is one habit among several: the same points also come from walking, sleep, water and meals. See how AHEALTH rewards work, or see how apps that pay you to walk add to the same balance.

Why doses get missed, and where reminders help

Missed doses are common. According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 new prescriptions in the U.S. are never filled, and about half of those that are filled are taken incorrectly, especially when it comes to timing, dose, how often and for how long.

The CDC sorts the reasons into two groups. Some are unintentional, such as forgetting a dose or a refill or not fully understanding the schedule. Others are deliberate decisions to stop or change a medicine, often because of cost, side effects or doubts about whether it's working.

Reminders and rewards help with the first group. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) notes that medication reminder apps can help you remember when and how to take your medicines each day. They can't solve the second group. If cost, side effects or doubts are the reason, talk with your doctor or pharmacist before you change anything.

How to build a medication routine that sticks

• Tie it to something you never skip. MedlinePlus suggests taking your medicine along with a daily activity, such as brushing your teeth or feeding a pet. If you'd like to take it with meals, ask your doctor or pharmacist first, because some medicines need an empty stomach.
• Set an alarm for each dose time. MedlinePlus suggests setting an alarm on your phone, clock or computer for your medicine times.
• Use a pill organizer. The CDC calls pillboxes and blister packs a proven, cost-effective way to cut down on doses missed by accident.
• Keep an up-to-date list. The NIA suggests listing each medicine or supplement, how much you take and when, and showing the list to all your health care providers.
• Check off each dose. A chart where you mark each dose lets you see at a glance whether you already took it. In AHEALTH, logging the dose is also what earns the points.
• Keep medicines in one place, out of reach of children, so they're easy to find at dose time.

Helping a parent who takes several medicines a day

If your mom, dad or grandparent takes many pills at different times of day, keep the setup simple: a reminder for each dose time, a pillbox filled for the week and a medicine list where everyone can see it.

Family help counts. MedlinePlus suggests a buddy system, or having a family member call or stop by to help with reminders. A short daily call at one of the dose times works alongside any app.

If keeping track has become hard, tell their doctor. MedlinePlus notes that a provider may be able to cut back on some medicines, but no one should cut back or stop a medicine on their own.

In AHEALTH, the person who takes the medicine sets the reminders and logs their own doses, and the points are theirs to redeem. If you need an app that alerts a family member about missed doses, check that it clearly offers caregiver alerts before you rely on it. For more on simple apps for older adults, see an easy health rewards app for seniors.

Keep the rewards from getting in the way

Points should make the right thing easier, never change what the right thing is. A few rules keep it that way:

• Log only doses you actually took. The log is only useful if it's honest, for you and for anyone helping you.
• Never take extra to catch up. The NIA warns that taking a larger dose of a medicine, thinking it will help more, can be very dangerous. Ask your doctor or pharmacist what to do if you miss a dose.
• Don't stop or change a medicine on your own. The NIA says to take a prescription medicine until it's finished or until your doctor says it's all right to stop.
• Use the app as a habit helper, not as medical advice. Questions about doses, side effects or how your medicines mix belong with your doctor or pharmacist.

Once your dose routine feels automatic, you can add another small habit at the same time of day, such as a short walk after breakfast. See one app that rewards several micro-habits.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Easy rewards app for seniorsWhat makes a health app easy for older adults, what the CDC recommends for people 65 and older and how to set gentle goals that earn small rewards.
• One app for five micro-habitsWhich micro-habits AHEALTH rewards and which it doesn't, how the rewards work, and how to stack small habits into one simple day.
• Amazon and Target gift cardsHow AHEALTH's U.S. Gift Shop works for Amazon and Target gift cards, what to check before you pick a rewards app, and how to make the reward support the habit.

All AHEALTH guides