(image courtesy of MSNBC)

Growing old, and caring for someone who is growing older, is not easy. It is a balancing act, especially for caregivers; how much freedom do you offer your loved one, and when do you monitor them closely for their own safety?

One of the toughest areas to monitor safely without taking away a sense of independence is medication. I vividly remember when my parents began monitoring my grandmother’s medication, instead of letting her track it herself. It was tough to see her let go of that daily routine, since it meant giving up a piece of her autonomy and admitting she couldn’t handle something so basic anymore.

Luckily, technological advances have brought us more than Beerbelly Coolers; they’ve also brought ways to manage medications and dispense them efficiently and in a trackable fashion. TabSafe not only dispenses medications, it also allows caregivers to remotely track medicine to make sure nothing is off track. Check out some information from TabSafe below, and hopefully we’ll have more information on this great concept after CES!

New Medication Management System Launched at CES Offers Solution to Medication Adherence Issues:

TabSafe’s Intelligent High-Tech Medical Device Plans to Change Landscape of Digital Health

The Consumer Electronics Show will mark the launch of TabSafe, a medication assistance device that will revolutionize the digital health industry. The new TabSafe can be used by consumers in their homes not only to monitor multiple medications, but also to check vital signs and inform caregivers if pills need to be refilled or if pills have not been taken on time. This is all done by connecting the e device from a traditional from a phone line to the web..

“Medication mismanagement is costly, dangerous and deadly.  In my 30 years as an Emergency Physician, I’ve seen thousands of people admitted to the hospital and put into assisted living because they couldn’t manage their medications. We want to keep people safer, at home longer, and living more independently while giving families peace of mind and saving them money at the same time,” TabSafe CEO, Stephen L. Axelrod, M.D. says.

Creators of the machine have also been able to solve a problem that’s been a key frustration of those responsible for medication management. Using advanced technology, the device is programmed to monitor and distribute “as needed” medications (like pain pills) reducing the chance of an overdose.

TabSafe was designed by a technology expert who once built weapon systems for the United States military, and manufactured in Indianapolis, TabSafe is the only medication management system designed to take care of a number of needs all at once. One of the most impressive features is the device’s ability to transfer data to TabSafe’s web site so family and medical personnel have everything they need to help patients live healthier and more independently at their fingertips.

Some of the advancements the device is equipped with include:

• Device securely stores and dispenses all the medication you need to take, at the times you need to take it, triggering an alarm to alert you to take your pills.

• System alerts patient and caregiver if the medication is not taken on time.

• Web-accessible so family and medical personnel have access to a patient’s activities through a regularly updated website. Here caregivers can check on prescriptions, refill prescriptions, and view all the metrics about the patient for that day.

• Only device available that can monitor and distribute “as needed” medication like pain pills reducing chance of overdose or too frequent usage. Up until now, this area of medication management has stumped everyone in the industry.

• Monitors vital signs like blood pressure, blood sugar levels, oxygen levels, and even the room temperature.

• Caregiver can check the results on their cell phone if they happen to be in a place without their computer.

• Easily filled by caregiver and only system that can be filled once a month. Others must be filled twice a month or once a week.

-Notifies caregiver when a medication wasn’t taken and when it’s time to refill medications

TabSafe field-tested devices have successfully delivered more than ten million pills over the last six years for residents in assisted living communities. These exciting results give TabSafe the potential to be used in many medication management scenarios.

In fact, Dr. Axelrod says one in ten people admitted to hospitals in the United States end up there because they didn’t take their medication correctly.

In the U.S., 51% of all prescription medications are taken incorrectly, causing 125,000 deaths each year. In fact, the incorrect usage of medications accounts for 10% of all hospital admissions and over 23% of all new resident admissions to assisted living, independent care, nursing home and skilled nursing facilities are a direct result of not being able to take medication properly.

“TabSafe provides significant benefits throughout the medication process. But unquestionably, the most important single benefit it creates is greater independence.  We want to help keep people at home longer so they can have a higher quality of life and save their families the expense of putting someone into assisted living,” Dr. Axelrod says.

Frank Cochran, an Atlanta financial executive, says it’s done exactly that for his mother. Since testing the device, the family has been able to move her from an assisted living facility, where caregivers were supplying medications, to an independent living community where the device dispenses her medications.

“The device has done two things for me. It’s given me peace of mind. Now the device monitors the medication, which gives us peace of mind. Also, it’s been a huge financial savings for us as a family. All in all it’s probably been a $2,000 a month swing for us,” Cochran says.

Claudia Bowman, a former marketing executive, says TabSafe has done the same thing for her family when it comes to caring for her Father-in-law.

“There’s also the added benefit for my husband and I. Before we got TabSafe for my Father-in-law, I was making phone calls to him twice a day. Going to the movies, going to dinner, sleeping in, everything had to take a back seat because we had to strictly monitor his medication. So, TabSafe has given me some independence in addition to John .  It’s really been a blessing,” Bowman says.

“People who have to take care of those who are ill, whether it’s a child with cancer, their elderly mother, someone who has bipolar disorder, or someone battling HIV, spend too much of their time managing medication and that forces them to sacrifice time they want to spend with their loved ones. I want TabSafe to allow people to be the parent, the child, the brother or sister, the husband or wife again, not just a caregiver. I only wish our device had been around when I was taking care of my parents,” Dr. Axelrod continues.

Between TabSafe, the Ekahau Bracelet, and other accessibility products (like some of the items offered by Assistive Stuff, and Intel’s reader for the blind/visually impaired) technology can give caregivers and family members the ability to care for loved ones without taking away their independence. If things like this aren’t a great use of technology, I don’t know what is!