A Perth medical student has created an app to help Australians manage their medications after watching his mother and grandmother struggle to keep track of their prescriptions.
Rishi Yogesan, 22, teamed up with his father Yogesan Kanagasingam to build MediRemind from their kitchen table, and it’s already been downloaded more than 1000 times in just six weeks.
The idea came after Rishi witnessed his family’s frustration with managing multiple medications.
“They don’t know how many repeats are left,” he said. “They don’t know where their paper scripts are sometimes.”
His mother Shama Yogesan said she wished someone would solve the problem.
“One day I got so frustrated, I told my son, I wish someone comes up to solve this issue,” she said.
The app keeps scripts, repeats and reminders in one place, with patient information stored securely on the user’s device rather than an external server.
“Initially we thought it’s maybe our family problem, but we found out it’s not the case,” Rishi said.
The issue is widespread, with Australians managing more scripts than ever before. Around one third of people aged over 70 are taking five or more medications a day.
The app aims to make medication management easier for both patients and pharmacies.
“It’s life changing for me and there’s so many people like me,” Shama said. “My health is now normal and managing my medication problem has become much easier.”