Automatic Pill Dispenser — Alarm Sound and Flashing Light, Elderly

I have an older relative who is in the early stages of Alzheimers disease, and he is so forgetful, he could never remember to take his pills. This machine works great for him. He has used it for two or three years, and with the help of this Medready machine, he now takes his pills about 90% of the time. He takes pills twice daily, which means I can load up this Medready with 14 days of pills. Initially, he was resistant to using it, because he claimed he never forgot to take his pills (so how come a 30-day supply of pills would last 8 weeks?) But once he started using this machine, he began to like it. The Medready comes with some instructions for how to get someone accustomed to using it. They suggest that when you first start using this, you telephone your relative at the exact time of day the machine is set to dispense the pills. That was good advice, and worked for us. After using the machine for a couple of weeks, he said what a great machine it is. Okay, so fast forward two or three years. I recently visited this older relative one morning, and I saw that the Medready machine was missing from his apartment. Apparently he had gotten confused, and tossed it into the dumpster. This happened twice over a period of several weeks. So after buying a replacement Medready machine, I drilled holes in the base of the machine, and I bolted it to my relative's dining room table. Now he can't remove it, and for the past month he has once again been taking his pills just fine. Let me comment on some of the other reviews I have seen here. Some people have pointed out that this machine is a Godsend because it has enabled their older relative to continue living independently. That is certainly the case with me, too. I wish we'd had these things 20 years ago, when my mother was still alive, and was suffering from dementia. Secondly, the caregiver (or whoever fills the machine) must take the time to thoroughly READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. From some of the comments, it seems clear that some people never set up their machine properly when they first got it. Yes, I agree that the instructions are not the best. Medready should probably take another look and see if the instructions can be improved. But I am no Einstein, and I was able to figure them out. When you first get this thing, plan to take a couple of hours to read everything, look at the pictures provided, and set it up, and play around with it. You can set the alarms up to four times per day, at whatever times you decide. My model comes with an audible alarm and a flashing alarm light. But I actually have the audible alarm turned off, because just the sound of the machine activating is fairly loud by itself, and I knew my older relative would be irritated by any alarm. Every patient is different, and you will have to decide what will work best for your situation, but I like having the option to activate or de-activate the alarms. (The machine makes sort of a loud clicking sound when it activates, even with the audible alarm turned off. I do wish the flashing light was more obvious though.)

My 86 year old mother (with beginning memory problems) has been 100% successful for the past 4 weeks with this dispenser. MedReady has a bit of a learning curve. 1-We don't use the sound alarm. Sounds like a fire alarm buzzer and there's no volume control. 2-The rotating pill tray makes a loud sound. She's used to it now. 3- I set the light alert to blink for 2 hours. Note:The pills are still available until the next scheduled dose rotates. 3- She had to learn to push the pill cover ALL the way open to deactivate the light alert. When caregivers add pills, make sure the alarm alert lever is pushed back before locking the lid. If it isn't, the alarm won't flash. 4- She uses a small soup bowl to dump her pills into. 5. She was worried that it wouldn't work. Even tried to break into it. She felt better when we had a back up plan... an old pill tray with 4 days of pills. (only my siblings and I know the location) 6-As in the instructions, I was with her for the first 3 days..either in person, or on the phone when it was pill time. Great product! No more missed doses, mixed up days, overdoses. Highly recommend this.

My 96 year old father-in-law insists on living alone, no nurse for him! As long as he takes his medicine twice a day, all is great. If he misses a couple in a row, off to the emergency room we go. This thing has been great. I turned off the audio alarm, just leaving the flashing light. I programmed it to flash for the max (240 minutes!), just in case he somehow misses the noise of it operating, or the light flashing. (The alarm and light come on when the next dose is presented, and you can program it for both a light and audio alarm, and you can also program how long you want the door to remain open.) Once he opens the door, it turns off the alarm and exposes his pills. He has gotten cute a couple of times and takes out his pill and then puts them in a cup, and then sets it besides the machine, promising he will take them when he goes to the bathroom next....yeah right. We used to have a regular problem of him taking his pills out of the the plastic pill boxes....he would miss doses on a regular basis with no explanation. He would always act surprised. Now, things are different. Now, in the morning I listen as he tells me that he sits in his chair waiting for the 7 am dose....from when he woke up 4 am! No amount of logic works with him. I tell him he doesn't have to wait on it...it will be there when he comes back from breakfast....but now he is now taking an active interest in taking his medicine. Tho is is a winner. And no, unlike one reviewer, I have not had to screw the unit to the table...(yet)! The options and flexibility offered by this unit is worth the price. My only concern is the door. It seems flimsy, and one must push it up hard enough to switch off the alarm...and my F-I-L tends to push a little harder than necessary - when he is gentle it doesn't always disengage the alarm. So far, it is holding up just fine.

Liked that tray has slots large enough to get your finger in & scoop out the pills. Liked that it could provide pills once/day. Liked that it had an actual key that prevented taking lid off without (key lock not tamper able—but read on as tray slot problems render locking advantage rather useless). Problems that made it unusable for us: 1)battery pack difficult to plug in w flimsy hard to reach tiny connection that is sure to not hold up (very rinky dink connection like a cheap throw away toy or worse & disconnecting means yanking wire out that will surely ruin it after too many yanks); 2)Poor design and instructions on setting clock, dispensing time & alarms. We inadvertently got this goofed up at start but then finally got dispense set w only one alarm set per was what we wanted—the whole process did not seem to work as should though and sometimes the alarm did not go off and at other times went off at wrong time. Then magically it started going off at correct time. The design seems very poor like a cheap poorly made toy; 3)No clear lid without paying extra so one has to unlock to check the pills; 4)One needs to be able to visually monitor the pills ongoing because the opening is a bit larger that the tray slot allowing pills from adjacent slot to be accessed with the slightest effort/pushing tray a tiny bit with finger and turning the whole thing upside down— yes out pop an extra day of pills (and at one point the tray advanced an extra day on its own). These problems RENDERED THIS MED DISPENSER USELESS for anyone who cannot safely oversee their own dispensing. Too bad they could not have designed and manufactured a better quality product that would function like it should as there is a high need. We would gladly have paid a pulse more hundred for a well-made secure and dependable dispensing medset. Unfortunately this one is very poorly made with too many significant problems and a complete waste of money. We returned ours. Oh and I forgot—they did not number the slots nor provide any ring to put on with slot numbers! Who makes a medset with 28 days but gives you no way to number them unless you get out the sharpie??? Geez.

Great idea. Works well. However, the sound of the wheel turning is very loud and off-putting, even disturbing for the person whose meds are in there. Please add a cardboard guide for pills given only twice a day. Buzzer is a good tone level. This is NOT for those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, that may be in a flare. My sister could see the other pills through the tiny crack on the other side of the timed meds, and kept trying to move the wheel and get them, because she thought she should. And, of course where there is a will, there is a way. But...when she was her normal self, it worked very well. Then, it kept her from taking a second dose of her meds and kept her on a schedule. She became too distressed with her OCD from the minimal stress she had from living alone and is now in an assisted living facility. But, I absolutely recommend the Med Ready dispenser. I just wish I had found it sooner in her life. I am so dismayed that institutions, nursing homes, senior centers and assisted living facilities do not know of some of the innovations for seniors and those with dementia or mental disorders. This is one. The RAZ Memory Phone is another. Both of these products made a big difference in my sister's life and her frustration level. Hugs all around to those who love and care for those, who need such products.

This thing works! It has allowed my 92 year old mother to continue to live independently. She used to get her meds mixed up, but not anymore. She takes them twice daily so we set the machine for 7am and 7 pm. The alarm was too loud for her, so we turned that off. She normally hears the clicking noise when it’s time to take. If not, the blinking light is a perfect reminder.

We purchased the MedReady 1700 Medication Dispenser for our 90‑year‑old mother when she began having difficulty remembering when to take her medications, which medications to take, and sometimes whether she had already taken them. This device has helped our family tremendously. The flashing light and clear alerts make it obvious when it’s time for her meds, and the dispenser removes all confusion by only allowing access to the correct dose at the right time. That alone has brought us incredible peace of mind. It’s easy for her to use, even with age‑related memory challenges, and it has helped restore her independence while keeping her safe. Most importantly, it reduced the stress on both her and the rest of the family. We no longer worry about missed doses or double dosing. If you’re caring for an elderly parent or loved one who struggles with medication management, this dispenser is absolutely worth it. We’re so grateful to have found it

This automatic pill dispenser is working very well for my 89-year old mother who could no longer follow a weekly list of taking her medications. You can set up to 4 times a day for pill dispensing. You can set the alarm for various lengths of time to let them know that the pill(s) are ready to take. I like that because if she's napping at pill time, it will keep beeping until she opens the pill "drawer". The pills remain available until the next time. We have it set to start beeping at 8:30 AMfor her first pill and go for 4 hours - she usually gets it within a few minutes. Then at 4:30 PM the dispenser closes the door and rotates to the next pill drawer and starts beeping, again for 4 hours - just in case she goes out for dinner, and isn't home at 4:30. The last pill "drawer" is still accessible after the beeping stops. The only thing this does not do, is make sure that she actually takes the pill - if she gets interrupted and sets the pills on the counter, there is no guarantee she'll remember to take them. But that is not an issue right now. This is strictly for pill management for someone who doesn't remember to take their pills or may take the same dose more than once. It is not for someone who will actively try to get to the pills before it's time - it could easily be broken into. But it locks well enough that it's not going to accidentally open when it gets moved. Set up is a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it's very easy. We started with one pill time a day and changed to 2 - I messed up the first try because I didn't realize the 2nd pill time didn't have the red light lit. But that was my error - I should have read the instructions better. I would recommend this.

This is a great little machine. Way better constructed than the last of its type I purchased. Very easy to load. Option for it to be quiet if a screaming alarm is not required. Well worth it

This thing is awesome. My sister loves it so she doesn’t have to remember if or when she took her medication. The alarm is adjustable so you can choose how long that (very loud beep) continues. If she misses one dose, the machine moves to the next position and she cannot overdose. Very easy to use. I wish it came with cards to mark the slots for two times a day, not just three and four doses per day. It’s not a deal breaker by any means, I just labeled it with a market myself. Going to get an extra one so I can swap the trays out and not have to load them in front of her. Well done Med-ready!!!