Medications

DoseAlert supports every common type of medication — pills, capsules, liquids, injections, inhalers, patches, drops, creams, and more. This page covers the basics of the medication record.

Adding a medication

Tap the + button anywhere in the app. You can either type the details in or scan a pharmacy label to pre-fill the form.

Medication form

Pick the form that best matches the medication. The form changes the icon on the Today view and how the dose is phrased.

• Tablet — a solid, swallowed pill.
• Capsule — a gelatin shell.
• Liquid — measured in millilitres, teaspoons, or drops.
• Injection — syringe, auto-injector, or pen.
• Inhaler — puffs for asthma, COPD, etc.
• Patch — applied to the skin.
• Drops — eye, ear, or nose drops.
• Cream — topical creams and ointments.
• Vial — reconstituted medications.
• Suppository
• Other — anything that doesn't fit the above.

Dose

Set the dose amount and unit. Example: 2 tablets, 10 mg, 1 patch, 2 puffs, 5 mL. DoseAlert displays the dose using wording appropriate to the form ("Take 2 pills", "Apply 1 patch", "2 puffs").

If you take a different dose at different times of day, see Different doses at different times.

Priority

Three levels, with different reminder behaviour:

Medication search and interaction warnings

The name field searches a medication list bundled inside the app, so it works offline. When DoseAlert recognises certain medication combinations, it shows a local interaction warning before saving. This is a limited safety aid, not a complete interaction database. Always confirm interactions with a pharmacist or prescriber.

Start and end dates

If a medication starts on a future date, set a Start date so DoseAlert doesn't remind you before it's prescribed to begin. If it's a short course (like an antibiotic), set a Course end date and DoseAlert automatically stops reminders on that day.

Notes

A free-text area for anything you want to remember — "take with food", "keep refrigerated", the pharmacy phone number, your refill date, the prescribing doctor. Notes show up on the medication detail screen when you tap a card.

Photo

You can add a photo of the medication bottle or the pills themselves. The photo is stored on your device only — it's never uploaded anywhere. Useful if you want to double-check you're taking the right pill.

Proof photo when a dose is taken

You can require a photo when a dose is logged as Taken. A pill organizer asks for one shared photo, even when several included medications require proof. The clear photo stays local. If caregiver sharing is enabled, DoseAlert automatically queues an end-to-end encrypted package for the paired caregiver and retries after an offline period.

Active hours (window)

For medications scheduled every X hours, you can set an active window — for example, only between 8 AM and 10 PM. Doses that would otherwise fall outside the window are pushed to the next opening. Great for medications you shouldn't take overnight.

As-needed (PRN) flag

If a medication is taken only when symptoms arise (ibuprofen for a headache, nitroglycerin for chest pain), mark it as As needed. It appears in a separate section of the Today view, doesn't fire scheduled reminders, and (optionally) shows a cooldown timer between doses. See As-needed (PRN) medications.

Editing or deactivating a medication

Tap the medication card to open its detail screen. Edit any field, or scroll down to find the Deactivate button. Deactivated medications stop firing reminders but stay in your history so your records are intact. Reactivate any time by turning the switch back on.

Deleting a medication

On the medication detail screen, scroll to the very bottom for the red Delete button. This permanently removes the medication and all of its dose history. Usually it's better to deactivate instead, so you don't lose history.