How to create medication reminders in iOS 16
With iOS 16, Apple has added medication reminders to the Health app, which allows users to create schedules and reminders, and track their medications, vitamins, or supplements on their iPhone.
Third-party medication reminder apps have been available on the App Store for a long time, but never before has Apple built its own offering, which notifies users through notifications on their iPhone and Apple Watch when their scheduled medication is due to be taken, with an in-app log showing when medicines have been marked as taken, avoiding accidental double doses and concerns over whether a medicine has been taken or not.
In the US, the medication reminder goes a step further by offering drug-drug interaction warnings, which will alert a user when they add two or more medicines to the Health app which are recognised as potentially harmful and unsafe combinations of prescriptions based on the dosage and medicine type, using information from Elsevier, a leading publisher of health and science information.
How to create medication reminders in iOS 16
- Open the Health app on your iPhone and tap Browse
- Select Medications from the Browse list and tap the Add a Medication button
- Type the name of the Medication and tap Next
- Select the Medication Type, whether it be a capsule, tablet, cream, drop or liquid, and tap Next
- Add the Medication Strength and tap Next, or select Skip if not applicable
- Create a schedule for your medicine by choosing the frequency of the medication, and at what time you want to be reminded to take the medicine, then tap Next
- Choose the shape of your medication and tap Next, or select Skip
- Choose the colour of your medication and the background colour you wish to see in the app and tap Next
- After reviewing the information on screen, tap Done to create your medication reminder
You will then see the newly added medication reminder in the Health app, where you will find your log, which will eventually show how often you have taken scheduled medication and at what time the medication was taken.
When the time comes to take your scheduled medication, a notification will appear on your iPhone and Apple Watch. You will need to tap the notification on your iPhone and mark the medication as taken for it to appear within your medication log.
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