Rising medical costs and a rapidly growing elderly population have combined to require improved home assisted health care. While the elderly make up just 12% of the nation's population, they consume 30% of all prescription drugs (Santo-Novak, p. 72). Compliance errors account for 23% of nursing home admissions as well as 125,000 deaths a year from the misuse of cardiovascular drugs (Karden, pp. 65-66). Over 6.5 million of the elderly need some form of longterm care and 5.2 million of these patients are living semi-independently in the community. These patients, the target population, must rely primarily on family and friends for assistance with medication even though at least 51% of these caregivers work full or part time (AARP, p.8). The objective of Phase I funding was to evaluate a specific design concept for a fully automated home tablet and capsule dispenser in terms of consumer utility and engineering feasibility. Phase II objectives are to manufacture 20 prototypes, to test them with 100 semi-independent elderly patients for medication compliance improvements, and to make necessary modifications for high-volume Phase III production. The Phase I design 1) handles up to 6 different medications simultaneously: 2) eliminates pill counting; 3) requires no programming; 4) requires no patient visual acuity; 5) delivers medication on an automated tray; 6) prevents overdosing. It also provides complete logging, is secured against theft, and is fully portable, allowing for patient use during overnight or weekend visit.
