FreeRxReminder.com helps patients keep track of doses, schedules

BATON ROUGE, La. Patients taking prescription drugs can receive reminders to take their medications by e-mail, using a new, Web-based service.

FreeRxReminder.com has launched a free service that allows patients to set up and receive free reminders about their doses and schedules.

According to a report last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 47% of Americans use at least one prescription drug, while 66% of those ages 45 to 65 and 87% of those 65 and older do. Elderly patients run an increased risk of forgetting to take medications or overdosing if they forget they’ve already taken a dose.

“Pill cases and written medication schedules can help people remember when to take their pills to a degree, but for some patients, they’re not enough,” FreeRxReminder.com president Rex Bowden said in a statement. “Sometimes, it’s a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ If a pill case or reminder note isn’t in front of someone, it won’t help them remember to take their medications when they’re supposed to.”