Janssen Healthcare Innovations (JHI), a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, launched the new version of its free Care4Today medication reminder app and platform, Care4Today Mobile Health Manager 2.0.
The new app is not just an update to Care4Today, which launched last July, but a completely new app built in-house, whereas the original was built on Diversinet's MobiSecure technology. Diversinet's assets were acquired by IMS Health in August.
"We thought it would be better to own the application," Dave Tripi, Partner at JHI, told MobiHealthNews. "We didn't find a vendor that could meet the requirements."
The new app runs on iOS and Android smartphones. If the user doesn't have a smartphone, he or she can set up medication reminders from a web app and have the reminders sent to his or her feature phone via SMS. The system can give reminders about any drug, not just drugs from Johnson & Johnson.
"Our patient is our number one priority and we want to make sure our patients get their maximum benefit out of their medication," Tripi said. "We recognize consumers don't want 10 apps, they want one application that does all of it, to help them get the best results per their doctor's orders."
Care4Today 2.0 has the same features as the original Care4Today but with a new user interface. There are 20,000 prescription and over-the-counter drugs pre-programmed into the app. It includes pictures of the pills so users can set alarms and reminders that will deliver an unambiguous cue about what meds to take. If users need to program a drug that isn't in the database, they can enter a custom name and take a picture with the phone's camera. Users can print out a 7-day or 30-day report of their adherence that they can share with their physicians.
The new app also has two new features designed to improve adherence. One, Care4Charity, allows users to select one of three charities: AIDS United, American Diabetes Association, and Save the Children. The company will donate 5 cents to that charity for each day that the user is fully adherent to their medications. Users can track their donations and the combined donations of all users of the app. JHI will donate a minimum of $20,000 to each charity and at most an additional $90,000 between the three.
The other new feature, Care4Family, allows the app to notify family members when doses are missed. It can be set to tell them immediately, at the end of the day, or not at all.
In addition to medication, Tripi said future updates to the platform might include custom reminders for checking blood glucose, checking weight, and taking out your contact lenses. They are also working on a Windows phone version and a Spanish translation.
