OUR HOME CARE AGENCY used this medication machine many times in addition to providing home care services.  It is an economical tool for maintaining medication compliance and helping seniors remain home longer.  This machine works very well with seniors who have dementia or mild cognitive impairment.  We recommend renting the machine from Philips Lifeline.  By renting the machine you are able to test it out and if it doesn’t work, you can ship it back to the company with minimal out of pocket expense. (TIP: don’t throw the box away you will need it to return the machine)

This machine will not work with seniors who cannot follow commands.  When the machine says “it’s time to take your medication push button to dispense”,  they will need to have the ability to remove the cup, open the top and take the medication.  As a persons’ dementia progresses, you will find increasing missed dosage in the machine.

Here are the pros’ and con’s: PROS:

• Ease of use
• Quality machine
• Multiple messages can be chosen from the machine
• Machine uses voice commands such as “Its time to take your medication” -over 20 different messages
• Multiple 6 dosage times per day
• Machine locks which is helpful when dispensing narcotics
• Back-up battery in case of power failure or travel
• If you sign up for services (which is not required) they will alert you when a dosage is missed or if the machine is having an error

CON:

• Can be somewhat difficult and confusing to set up
• Patient must press the button to have the cup drop down; if they fail to do that in a certain time limit, the cup will not release and will go into a missed dosage area
• If patient is hard of hearing or not in the room when going off, they could miss a dosage time
• Does not work with with as needed medication
• Although there is an early dosage feature, the machine must be unlocked to obtain the dosage
• Small cups and lids end up everywhere and you will need to either save them or reorder.  Some patients are good at remembering to put them in a bowl after use
• Dispenser errors occur if the lids are not secure and/or problems with the cups

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Relevar Home Care can help with keeping your loved one safe at home, including medication compliance. Call us at 586-493-7677 for more information about senior home care Birmingham MI residents deserve.