Patients Get Safety Information, Pill Reminders with New Mobile App from Quintiles

Information about potential adverse reactions from multiple medicines and a pill reminder which can be set for hourly, daily or weekly alerts, are some of the features on a new mobile app created by Quintiles for users of its MediGuard service.

A community of 2.6 million patients use Quintiles’ MediGuard service to help monitor their medication intake and access information about research and disease-specific programs. The new app is designed specifically for iPhone and Android users.

“With nearly one third of all mobile device owners using their phones to look up healthcare information, this capability has become an imperative if MediGuard is to engage with patients at moments when they most need access to that information,” explains David Coman, senior vice president at Quintiles.

The MediGuard app allows users to print or email their entire list of medications for sharing with physicians or loved ones. A notes section enables the storing of notes, questions or next appointments during physician visits. Other features include:

• Doctor’s Visit Medicine Checks - Summary of current prescriptions for each doctor visit;
• Drug Lookup - Database of more than 4,000 drugs, activated by typing or speaking drug names.

The MediGuard database and its app provide patients with access to detailed drug data including: potential side effects; black-box warnings; safety alerts and recalls; and drug interactions between medications that may occur. The new app also allows users to see satisfaction ratings from other patients who have taken the same medications.

“At the heart of all the work we do is the goal of helping improve patient health,” adds Coman. “MediGuard is an important service that not only protects patient safety in regard to the medicines they take, but is also a means of finding and participating in clinical research, observational studies and disease management programs.”

The app has already been recognized as the recipient of a Web Health Award in the “mobile, medical and education” category. The awards were founded 15 years ago to celebrate high-quality digital heath resources for consumers and health professionals.

The primary destination site www.MediGuard.org has also been given a re-design to match the mobile app.

The MediGuard app is available for free download through Apple’s iTunes App Store, the Google Play Store and can also be downloaded at www.MediGuard.org. A brief video showcasing the features of the MediGuard app is available here.