Caring for someone's medication is mostly a weekly job, not a daily one. If you set up one accurate list, one record of what was taken and a fixed weekly check, the daily part can run with much less of your attention. This guide lays out that weekly system.
You may be caring for an ageing parent, a partner after an operation or a relative who lives with you or across town. The details differ, but the questions are the same: is the list right, are doses being taken, is anything running low and what do I tell the doctor? Our guide on when and how to start tracking a parent's medications covers the first conversation. This one covers what happens every week after that.
Nothing here replaces advice from their doctor or pharmacist. If you are unsure about any medication, dose or timing, ask them.
Start with one master list
Everything depends on an accurate list. Sit down with every pack in the house, including things in the bathroom, the handbag, the car and the bedside drawer. For each one, write down:
- The name and strength as printed on the label
- How and when it is taken, in the words on the label
- What it is for, if they know
- Who prescribed it and when
- How many are left
Include vitamins, supplements, creams, drops, inhalers and anything bought without a prescription. Then take the list to their pharmacist and ask them to check it against their records. Pharmacists are very good at spotting a duplicate, an old medication that should have stopped or two products with the same ingredient.
Decide who does what
Many caring arrangements fail on the handover. Be clear:
- Who sets up the daily doses? The person themselves, you, another family member or a pharmacy-packed blister.
- Who gives or prompts each dose? Especially if different people visit at different times.
- Who orders refills and books appointments?
- Who is told if a dose is missed?
Write it down and share it with everyone involved. A list on the fridge works.
Make the daily part self-running
The daily routine should work on days you are not there:
- Reminders on their own phone or device, at times that match their day. If they wake late, a 7 am reminder will be ignored.
- Follow-up reminders, so a missed first prompt gets a second chance.
- One-tap logging, from the notification or a watch. Anything more and it will not happen.
- Large text and simple screens. Turn up the text size on their phone and remove anything they do not need.
If they are not comfortable with a smartphone, a pharmacy-packed blister pack or a pill box with a simple clock reminder may be better. The record can still be kept by whoever checks in.
Our step-by-step guide to setting up medication reminders on a parent's iPhone walks through the settings.
The weekly check
Pick a day and a time and keep it. Sunday afternoon suits many families. Allow 15 minutes. Go through:
- What was taken this week. Look at the record. Note any missed doses and whether there is a pattern, such as always the evening dose or always on weekends.
- What is running low. Check supply for every medication. Anything under two weeks gets reordered now.
- Anything new. Any new prescription, stopped medication or changed dose from an appointment this week. Update the master list and the reminders the same day.
- How they are feeling. Any side effects, new symptoms or changes worth mentioning to the doctor.
- Next week's appointments. Who is going, and what needs to be taken along.
If you fill a weekly pill box, this is the time to do it, with the master list in front of you.
Between visits
If you do not live with the person, you need a way to know things are on track without calling three times a day. A short daily summary of what was taken and what was missed is often enough. It means you only need to step in when something has actually been missed, and it saves them from feeling watched.
Agree on what happens if a dose is missed: a phone call, a text or a note for the next visit. Our guide to family medication check-ins has ideas for keeping this respectful.
Before appointments
Bring the master list, the dose record and a short list of questions. If the doctor changes something, ask them to write it down. Update everything the same day, before the old instructions creep back. Our guide on what to bring to a specialist appointment has a checklist.
Look after yourself too
Caring is work. Share the weekly check with a sibling if you can. Use the tools that take the load off. And if the medication routine is becoming too complicated, ask the doctor or pharmacist whether it can be simplified, such as fewer dose times in the day. They can review the whole list.
How Cadence fits
Cadence is set up on the iPhone of the person taking the medication. It handles daily, weekly, every few days, as-needed and tapering schedules, with follow-up reminders and Lock Screen actions. Supply tracking warns when something is running low. The person, or whoever helps them, can send a caregiver update: a summary of each medication and dose, its time and whether it was taken, missed or still to come. Cadence Pro adds a PDF report to take to appointments. It tracks one person's medications per phone, and there is no account or subscription.
Frequently asked questions
Can I manage their medications from my own phone?
Cadence tracks the medications of the person whose phone it is on. The usual setup is to install it on their phone and have them, or you on your visits, send you the daily update.
What if they refuse to use an app?
That is fine. A pharmacy-packed blister and a paper chart work. The weekly check still applies.
How often should the master list be reviewed by a pharmacist?
Whenever anything changes, and at least once a year. Ask their pharmacist what they recommend.
Cadence is a free medication reminder app for iPhone and Apple Watch. It is not medical software and does not give medical advice. Cadence Pro is a one-time purchase, with no subscription.
