Abstract:
Portable programmable medication alarm device for aiding in the administration of medication or pharmaceuticals in accordance with a prescribed medication dosage schedule. In a first illustrative embodiment, the programmable medication alarm device is manually programmed with data representative of a prescribed medication dosage schedule specifying a prescribed administration time, dosage amount, administration route, and medication instructions for each medication dosage to be administered to the patient. In response to the timed occurrence of each programmed administration time, an audible dosage alarm signal is generated and graphical representations of the prescribed administration time, dosage amount, administration route and medication instructions are visually displayed in predefined visual display fields. In a second illustrative embodiment, the portable medication alarm device is programmed by loading the prescribed dosage schedule data from a computer system, into the memory of the medication alarm device, using an automated data communication process. Also disclosed is a medication container holder which attaches the programmed medication alarm device to a conventional medication container, such as a eye-drop dispenser bottle, nasal-spray canister or pill bottle, without interfering with the operation thereof.