You can set up medication reminders on a parent's iPhone in one visit of about 20 minutes. Install a reminder app on their phone (not yours), add each medication from the box or prescription label, make the reminders hard to miss, and set up a daily summary they can send you. This guide walks through it with Cadence, which is free, needs no account and keeps the data on their phone.

Download Cadence free on the App Store

If you are helping a parent with their medications, the reminders need to live on the phone they carry. This guide is the hands-on part. For the bigger picture, such as when to step in and how to raise it, see our guide on tracking medications for elderly parents.

This is about organisation, not medical advice. The doses and times always come from their doctor or pharmacist.

Before you start

Bring these to the visit:

  • Every medication they take, in the original boxes or bottles with the pharmacy labels. Include vitamins and anything taken "as needed".
  • Their current medication list from the doctor or pharmacist, if they have one, so you can check nothing is missing.
  • Their iPhone, charged, and their passcode (they can type it in themselves).

Sit beside them rather than taking the phone away. The goal is a setup they understand and feel is theirs.

Step 1: Install Cadence on their phone

Install Cadence from the App Store on their iPhone. There is no account to create and no email to enter, which removes a common sticking point. When Cadence asks to send notifications, choose Allow. Without it, no reminders can appear.

If they wear an Apple Watch, Cadence's Watch app lets them confirm a dose from the wrist.

Step 2: Add each medication from the label

For each medication, tap to add it and point the camera at the pharmacy label. Cadence reads the label and fills in the name and dose where it can. Check what it filled in against the box and correct anything that doesn't match.

Then set the times the doctor or pharmacist gave. Cadence handles more than "once a day": several times a day, specific days of the week, every few days, and as-needed medications with spacing between doses.

Add the vitamins and supplements too. A complete list makes the daily summary and any report for the doctor more useful.

Step 3: Make the reminders hard to miss

This is the step that decides whether the setup works.

  • Lock Screen actions. Show your parent that they can confirm a dose straight from the notification, without unlocking the phone or opening the app. Take, skip or snooze are right there.
  • Follow-up reminders. If a reminder goes unanswered, Cadence follows up, so one missed buzz doesn't mean a missed dose.
  • Critical Alerts for the important ones. For a medication where a missed dose matters most, turn on Critical Alerts when adding it. Those reminders sound even when the phone is on silent or Do Not Disturb. iOS will ask for permission the first time.
  • Dose windows. Set a window that suits their routine, so a dose taken a little late still counts as on time instead of a failure.

Do a test before you leave: set a reminder a few minutes ahead and watch it arrive together.

Step 4: Set up refill reminders

Enter how many tablets are in each box. Cadence counts down as doses are logged and reminds them before they run out, so a refill gets ordered in time rather than on the last day.

Step 5: Agree how they'll keep you in the loop

Cadence doesn't send you anything automatically. Instead, your parent sends you a daily summary when they choose to. In Cadence, they go to Settings, then Reports & sharing, then Send caregiver update, and share it by message or email.

The summary lists each of today's medications and doses, with its time and whether it was taken, missed or still to come. Talk about this openly: what they're happy to share, and how often. A quick message once a day often works better than calls asking "did you take your tablets?".

If you need automatic alerts when a dose is missed, Cadence isn't built for that. Some subscription apps offer it, at the cost of an account and cloud storage.

Step 6: Bring a report to appointments

Before a GP or specialist appointment, Cadence Pro can create a PDF of their medication history to print or show on screen. Pro is a one-time purchase. Everything in steps 1 to 5 is free.

A week later

Check in after a week:

  • Are reminders arriving at times that suit their day? Move any that clash with meals or sleep.
  • Are any doses often marked late? Widen that window or move the time.
  • Is anything missing from the list?

Small adjustments in the first week make the difference between an app they put up with and one they rely on.

Frequently asked questions

Should the reminder app go on my phone or my parent's phone?

Their phone. The reminder has to reach the person taking the medication. Cadence keeps the data on the phone it's installed on, so you set it up on theirs and they send you updates.

Does my parent need an account or an email address?

No. Cadence has no account and no sign-up. Their medication data stays on their iPhone.

Will I be told automatically if my parent misses a dose?

No. Cadence doesn't send automatic alerts to family. Your parent sends you a daily summary themselves, from Settings, then Reports & sharing.

Can reminders sound when the phone is on silent?

Yes, for medications you turn Critical Alerts on for. iOS asks for permission the first time.

What does it cost?

Cadence is free for unlimited medications, with no subscription. Cadence Pro is an optional one-time purchase that adds deeper insights and the PDF report.

Cadence is a free medication reminder app for iPhone and Apple Watch with unlimited medications and no account required. Cadence Pro is a one-time purchase.