A medication reminder for my elderly parent — no ads, no sign-up, 1 big button
Pharmacy apps bury the “taken” button under ads and 6 screens. Here’s how to describe 1 your mother will actually use.
Leanfinit · 4 min read
You installed 3 pill apps for your mother. The first wanted an account. The second showed an insurance ad between doses. The third had 8 screens and she got lost on the second. The problem isn’t your mother — those apps are built for millions of people, and none of them is her.
Why pill apps overwhelm
Every extra tap is a chance to get confused. For an older person, the right app has 1 screen, large type and a single button.
The 3 elements of an app for an older parent
- 1Large typeMedication name and time, 24px or bigger, nothing else.
- 21 button“Taken”. Big, green. Greys out once pressed.
- 31 alertSound and vibration at the hour. Repeats after 10 minutes if not pressed.
“App for my mum: list of medications with times. Very large text. 1 green “Taken” button per dose. Sound alert at the hour and again after 10 minutes if not pressed. A separate screen for me with the weekly summary. No account, no ads.”
Sharing the log without exposing it
Your mother’s medication list shouldn’t live on a pharmacy’s server. With no server, it lives on her phone; the weekly summary is a second screen or a message she sends you. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 14:00 | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 21:00 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | ✓ |
Describe your own app →
Takes a few sentences. Private, yours.