Medication Reminders for the 21st Century- With the Founder of OnTimeRX - Susan Torrico
A Brewster Smythe
March 21, 2008
We all know the world moves so fast it´s hard to keep up for most of us. But, for those who need to take regular medications at prescribed times and dosages, another challenge appears.
This circumstance can affect us all. Not just the elderly who may have problems remembering when to take their medications, but those who have catastrophic illnesses, such as HIV/ Aids or those who have had organ transplants. Making sure those drugs are taken on time are a matter of life and death.
Susan Torrico was working as a part-time pharmacist at a specialty pharmacy that serviced HIV/Aids and organ transplant patients. One day she asked, " How do these people, who need to take between 10 and 20 different drugs per day, manage these drugs successfully?" No one seemed to know.
In 1996, after that question was not answered to Torrico´s satisfaction she decided to develop a way to simplify the process.
The first Palm version of OnTimeRX software was launched in September of 2000, and has been going strong since!
OnTimeRX is a simple medication reminder system, developed by Susan Torrico. It is available in a variety of "flavors" and formats (software products and online services.) There is a version for just about everyone.
I became interested in this subject on a personal basis when I noticed that my father had to have a nurse come in on a weekly basis to set up his pills for him. My mother is still alert and able, but she is uncomfortable with pills and worries she would forget to give him his medications on time. So, their answer has been to have a medical professional assist them.
After my own surgery in 2007, I realized how easy it would be to forget to take your drugs or take them at the right time, and so I set out to find the ways in which technology has begun to support this cause.
I asked Susan to explain the importance of taking medications on time.
" I´m a pharmacist and fully aware of the importance of compliance, but that knowledge alone doesn´t prevent me from getting distracted and missing doses myself. If I didn´t have OnTimeRX to remind me at the proper times, my compliance rate would be 60-70% (only slightly higher than the accepted rate of 50%). My endocrinologist orders routine lab work every 6 months and my values are extremely consistent. He says he never sees such consistent labs in ANY of his other patients."
"Patients often are unaware that missing even "a few doses now and then" can diminish the effectiveness of the drug. When doses are missed, for whatever reason, the blood levels in the system can drop below therapeutic levels and that obviously is not good."
"This is most evident with antibiotics. If the patients stops the drug too soon, the blood level will drop below "minimums" and the bug we´re trying to kill will rebound. You can be asymptomatic after a few days, but there are enough bugs still in your system that they will have "baby bugs" and the patient will have a "relapse".
Susan Torrico noticed a serious need and sought to find a solution. OnTimeRX is alive because of her genuine concern for patient needs.
This circumstance can affect us all. Not just the elderly who may have problems remembering when to take their medications, but those who have catastrophic illnesses, such as HIV/ Aids or those who have had organ transplants. Making sure those drugs are taken on time are a matter of life and death.
Susan Torrico was working as a part-time pharmacist at a specialty pharmacy that serviced HIV/Aids and organ transplant patients. One day she asked, " How do these people, who need to take between 10 and 20 different drugs per day, manage these drugs successfully?" No one seemed to know.
In 1996, after that question was not answered to Torrico´s satisfaction she decided to develop a way to simplify the process.
The first Palm version of OnTimeRX software was launched in September of 2000, and has been going strong since!
OnTimeRX is a simple medication reminder system, developed by Susan Torrico. It is available in a variety of "flavors" and formats (software products and online services.) There is a version for just about everyone.
I became interested in this subject on a personal basis when I noticed that my father had to have a nurse come in on a weekly basis to set up his pills for him. My mother is still alert and able, but she is uncomfortable with pills and worries she would forget to give him his medications on time. So, their answer has been to have a medical professional assist them.
After my own surgery in 2007, I realized how easy it would be to forget to take your drugs or take them at the right time, and so I set out to find the ways in which technology has begun to support this cause.
I asked Susan to explain the importance of taking medications on time.
" I´m a pharmacist and fully aware of the importance of compliance, but that knowledge alone doesn´t prevent me from getting distracted and missing doses myself. If I didn´t have OnTimeRX to remind me at the proper times, my compliance rate would be 60-70% (only slightly higher than the accepted rate of 50%). My endocrinologist orders routine lab work every 6 months and my values are extremely consistent. He says he never sees such consistent labs in ANY of his other patients."
"Patients often are unaware that missing even "a few doses now and then" can diminish the effectiveness of the drug. When doses are missed, for whatever reason, the blood levels in the system can drop below therapeutic levels and that obviously is not good."
"This is most evident with antibiotics. If the patients stops the drug too soon, the blood level will drop below "minimums" and the bug we´re trying to kill will rebound. You can be asymptomatic after a few days, but there are enough bugs still in your system that they will have "baby bugs" and the patient will have a "relapse".
Susan Torrico noticed a serious need and sought to find a solution. OnTimeRX is alive because of her genuine concern for patient needs.
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