A pair of St. Clair College students have created an app to assist people in taking their medication.
The application, named Medify, allows users to add their medications with the date and time they are to be taken in a calendar format. The app also features an option for caregivers to view what medications the user is taking and what medications have been taken on any given day.
It was created by Abel Anderson and Hasan Muslemani, two students in the mobile application development program at St. Clair College.
Anderson said the idea grew out of addressing the needs of a registered pharmacist, Jody Lecuyer, early last year.
“During that time, we talked with her and got a general idea of the project she wanted. Later on, at the beginning of the past semester, we met with her again and started making plans for the project itself,” said Anderson.
This process involved discussing features that would be provided on the app between himself and partner Muslemani, drawing prototypes to better visualize the app and planning a weekly schedule of tasks.
Anderson also said the app offers great benefits to certain groups.
“Our project is primarily marketed toward the older demographic who tend to have more medications and take pills more consistently and for longer periods of time.”
The app’s reminder features can help those struggling with dementia or other related conditions to ensure they have good health.
Anderson said the app’s ability to organize the user’s medications into an easily accessible schedule provides a lot of value. It also enables doctors to better understand what medications their patients are taking.
“As time moves on, the older generation is getting more technologically savvy, so I think that it is also important that we encourage them and provide them with tools that they can use on their own devices," he said.
Both Anderson and Muslemani are managing to make an impact through their app.
The Medify project was presented in the ONE Ford Capstone event, where it took second place out of 16 projects shown. It also earned the duo $1000 in cash, the AIS Technology Agile Award and gift cards from Air Canada.
Anderson said he is grateful for his partner Muslemani, who played a vital role in making the project happen and ensuring its success.
- Tyler Clapp