Our Blog
Please explore some of our articles about aging, seniors, technology, medical devices, prescriptions, successes and failures of our healthcare system. Some articles and commentaries are written by Terry Fagen, others by our dedicated employees and support staff. The common theme throughout is our passion to improve healthcare for all in this digital health era.
It’s a New Year, is AI really Artificial?
It's 2023 and AI seems to be all the rave. I asked ChatGPT to "Write a 1000 word article on why seniors need to be adherent to their medications". The following is what it generated. Pretty amazing I think!Medication adherence is the extent to which a person takes...
Let’s Fix Long-Term Care (LTC)
It’s 2022 and the pandemic continues. Thankfully, close to 90% of Canadians are vaccinated, reducing their likelihood of hospitalization and death. There are anti-vaxxers and others who are strongly against the government, at any level, telling them what they can and...
Senior Care, The Red Flags are Present
The demand for senior care, in-home and assisted living facilities, is projected to rise 55% within 10 years[1] (2031) nearly doubling the cost as Boomers are reaching 75 years old. Echo-boomers, or millennials as some would designate, are not only struggling to...
Politically Better Solutions, Caring for Aging
If the pandemic has taught us anything, we have learned about years of neglect, defunding, abuse and mismanagement of our seniors, chronic care patients, even their caregivers at the hands of our elected politicians, in the case of public health and private for-profit...
Medipense in 2020, What A Year!
What a year! As we say goodbye to 2020, we take the time to reflect on a challenging, yet very innovative year. COVID-19 has affected everyone and in this brief article, we set the stage and discuss the past year, from our perspective. We also explore the effect it...
COVID-19, the 2nd Wave
In this new COVID-19 Pandemic Phase, let’s ensure our loved ones are safe and properly taking their medications. Well, the COVID-19 second wave is among us - so it’s time to buckle down again. What have we learned from the first wave? What worked? What didn't? What...
COVID-19, a Reason to Stay at Home
Revised 07 September 2020: The novel Coronavirus known as COVID-19 continues to make the rounds and cause major disruptions to our normal, everyday life. While at-risk seniors initially affected the most were being advised to remain at home, then everyone was advised...
Life After COVID
The following narrative is a brief glimpse into the future (or past). It is a summary of what we have learned, needed to prepare and must do to make seniors lives better. Imagine this was written on January 1, 2021. The pandemic is over. Vaccinations have reached 90%...
Let’s Build A Better Seniors Residence
Our world has changed. Our world must change. While all aspects of a pandemic is devastating, hopefully we will have the opportunity to learn, to learn to be better, to do better and to treat others better, lest we repeat. Let’s build a better residence for our...
Assistive Technology for Seniors & Caregivers
Our rapidly aging society is forcing us to adapt to a new reality that seniors, while consuming the largest portion of healthcare dollars, also represents the fastest growing demographic of the 21st century. Chronic Illness A chronic illness is defined as the presence...
What’s New at CES 2020
CES 2020 with over 4,500 exhibitors and 175,000 visitors opened this week with great fanfare. There is something for everyone at the show: smart lights, talking showerheads, diaper sensors, drones, smarter breathalyzers, autonomous vehicles, automated rocking seats...
Top 5 Reasons to Buy an Automated Pill Dispenser
Learning how to buy an automated pill dispenser can be confusing. Pill dispensers and organizers are available in many forms: plastic “dollar store” organizers to fully automated, multilingual, secure, connected devices. The RxPense is of the latter type. It was...
More/Better Care for All, in Canada
According to a recent study by the Canadian Institute of Health Information[1], the number of physicians in Canada continues to increase, outpacing the growth of the general population. Yet, Statistics Canada reports that over 4.5 million Canadians do not have a...
Who Will Be The Caregivers Of Tomorrow?
As we face a global aging epidemic, countries will need to do more, with less. With fewer taxpayers to support those in need, fewer health care providers due to reduced birthrate, tight immigration policies and archaic medical boards and agencies reluctant to accept...
Hallway Healthcare 101 – Can Automation End Hospital Overcrowding?
For years we have been fighting over the ever increasing problem of hospital overcrowding. While patients in our rapidly aging society are frustrated with wait times, governments are frantically trying to find money to build capacity, rather than taking a serious look...
The 5 Top Technologies Seniors Should Have in Their Homes
It is important for seniors who age in place to have the support they need to do so, and with today's modern technological advances, this is easier than ever. At some point, many seniors are faced with making decisions about their living situations. While some choose...
We Need Better Communication with Seniors
In today’s aging society, we must promote and adapt our technologies and communications to better support seniors. Age-friendly products and services are desperately needed. Aging is a 100% certainty. With age, comes changes. Changes in the way we talk to each other,...
Preventing Falls In Seniors With Better Medication Adherence
Falls are the number one cause of injury, hospital visits due to trauma, and death from an injury among people age 65 and older. Medications are commonly implicated as causative factors in falls in elderly. In this brief article, we review some of the falls-related...
Medipense at CES 2019
The Computer Electronics Show was a major success for Medipense this year. Meeting seniors with medication adherence needs, property developers looking to supply the latest in technology with seniors focus, Google, Verily, Amazon, Samsung, HMOs, Insurers, Hospitals,...
The Breaking Point: Home Care or Managed Care
Do I Put Mom in an Assisted Living Facility?The most difficult decision a child (or spouse) can make is whether to place mom or dad in a managed care facility or allow either to remain at home longer. Guilt, stress, love, failure, quality of care and social stigma...
The Future of Health is: Home Care.
We are nearing the end of 2018 and what have we learned? Our population is rapidly aging, in fact faster than at any time in history. Advances in medicine and education have resulted in better health management resulting in an extended lifespan. The average life...
Pill Dispensers, a Competitive Analysis
The newest generation of pill dispensers are not only automated, but connected as well. Last year, we spent some time researching for the best pill dispenser for seniors and those for general consumer use. In the original article written for Medium.com, we documented...
RxPense Technology and the 5 R’s of Medication Administration
The five rights of medication administration, AKA the 5 R’s, were developed as goals to reduce medication errors and the subsequent adverse events. Ensuring that the right drug is administered to the right patient in the right dose by the right route at the right time...
Caregivers Need Care Too
Caregivers don't get nearly enough credit for the work they do. They handle household chores, prepare meals, manage medications, wash, clean and entertain patients, speak to doctors and nurses on behalf of those that they care for and communicate the results to other...
Avoiding Problematic Polypharmacy in Seniors
Polypharmacy is the concurrent use of multiple medications by a patient. It is not a condition, it is simply a statement of fact. While the number of medications qualified as polypharmacy is not clearly defined, technically it is > 1, it is generally agreed that...
Will Canada Be Able to Care for Its Aging Population? Part 2.
Three years ago, we asked whether Canada will be able to care for its seniors and identified potential solutions. This week, a new report issued by the Conference Board of Canada and funded by Canadian Medical Association, titled: "Meeting the Care Needs of Canada’s...
Why AI Needs a Good Pill Dispenser
Artificial Intelligence is the latest technology growth field with smart centers popping up throughout North America. For example, in Montreal where we are located, local AI start-ups are being purchased for $100 Million from the likes of Microsoft. Next, Google is...
Doing Something About Prescription (Opioid) Drug Abuse
Taken properly, prescription drugs, such as opioids, stimulants, sedatives and tranquilizers, can be effective in helping people manage pain and other ailments. However, they can cause more harm than good when misused and abused. This is an unfortunate fact that's...
Do you need an assistive device?
The needs of our rapidly aging population exceed the available solutions. Whether it’s housing, healthcare, bathing or mobility assistance, the demand outstrips the supply. The cost to provide these services keeps growing; the resources available keep shrinking. The...
Medipense Exhibits at CES 2018
Jan 9th-12th, 2018. What an amazing week at CES in Las Vegas, Nevada. We exhibited in Eureka Park, Health and Biotech area, reserved for new start-up and innovations. The week started off a little stressful with the FDA holding up the RxPense. We shipped the week...
Mental Health, Seniors and Medication Adherence
Senior citizens that are alone or losing autonomy are at a higher risk of having a mental illness(1). While not all mental illnesses are debilitating, the propensity to suffer from mental illness increases with lack of treatment. This brief article presents some...
HIPAA vs PIPEDA, Mandatory Protection
HIPAA (USA) and PIPEDA (Canada) are enacted rules, regulations and legislation that govern the privacy of our data. In a world evolved with terabytes of data generated daily, we need protection particularly from security breaches of hackers who can not only alter our...
Top 10 Reasons Seniors Do Not Take Their Medications
Seniors are the fastest growing segment of our society, the largest consumers of health care dollars, resources, and medications. Yet, over 55% of them do not properly take their medications. Studies indicate up to 30% of all hospital readmissions are due to...
A Better Way to Dispense Medications
We are on the verge of a pharmaceutical dispensing shift which will ultimately save lives, reduce hospital re-admissions and save patients, payors and insurance companies a lot of money. Pill dispensing with medications organized, sealed and secured by a pharmacist,...
Medication Color Matters When It Comes to Adherence
Pills are available in all shapes, sizes and colors. But why? I began to wonder after a lunchtime conversation with a local Canadian pharmacist. He was about to appear on a television show to discuss the efficacy of drugs and how they are affected by color....
Intelligent Medicine for Real (Senior) People
Q: "Watson, what is the best treatment for my cancer patient?" A: "Hold on (3 seconds elapse), sorry for the wait. I reviewed his entire medical history, analysed all the lab tests, x-rays and MRI, reviewed your medical notes and cross referenced all this data with...
Value-Based Care is Driving the Digital Health Revolution
Health care is on the verge of a major paradigm shift, resulting in better patient outcomes at a lower cost. Patients receive more effective care, employers experience reduced premiums and payors realize substantial savings. This is the only way to sustain our...
The Importance of Net Neutrality for Medical Devices
Connected medical devices (the internet of medical things – IoMT) provide enhanced monitoring and control to those who need it. Patients use these devices to track their progress, to help them better manage their condition and their daily living activities. The...
Blister Packaging is Best for Solid Medication Dispensing and Adherence
Packaging Types for Medications Blister packaging, commonly referred to as multi-dose blisters, compliance packaging, bingo cards, DisPill®, Distrimedic, Manrex, Jones or ECO-PILL™ branded blister packages are the best way to safely dispense solid medications. They...
Will Canada Be Able to Care for Its Aging Population?
Canada now[1] has more people aged 65 and older than it does people aged 15 and younger. By 2050, it's expected that one in four Canadians will be senior citizens. There's obviously a demographic shift underway in the country and many are concerned that it will...
Hand in Hand: The Power of Technology & Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Artificial Intelligence has become a part of our collective consciousness and it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Think about your daily life. When and how are you connected to technology? Upon a little bit of reflection you'll realize how often technology...
Revolutionizing Veterans Affairs with Digital Health
We're living in a time of rapid change thrust forward by the abundance of information we have now access to. We wear computing power on our wrists that in the 19th (and much of the 20th) century we couldn't even conceive of. Day by day we are starting to live in a...
Medipense year in review, a brief look back over the past 12 months
2016 – Talk about a disruptive year – advances in digital health made more data available to more people including Health Care Providers. It put Patients Like Me in the driver’s seat. The myriad of health sensors from companies like Withings, Hexoskin and Philips and...
The Uber Healthcare Model
How about applying the concept that Uber brought to the shared ride service, towards healthcare? Is it possible? Need a doctor, press a button. 24×7. A first responder comes online, listens to your problems, connects you with the right physician for immediate...
Fitness Meets HIPAA Compliance: Is Your Health Data Secure?
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (otherwise known as HIPAA) is a law that was enacted with a few primary goals, including protecting the confidentiality and security of healthcare information. It was enacted in 1996, long before mobile...
Tricorders Are Here!
Fans of Star Trek don’t need to be told what a tricorder is, but those of you who aren’t Trekkies might need to have one explained to you. Basically, a tricorder is a hand-held device that has multiple uses. It can be used for sensor scanning, data analysis and...
When Caregivers Aren’t Around To Provide Care
Caregivers don’t get nearly enough credit for the work they do. They can handle household chores, prepare meals, manage medications and even speak to doctors and nurses on behalf of those that they care for. In some cases they really take on a lot of responsibilities...
A Child Experiences A Medication Error Every 8 Minutes
According to the National Poison Database System (US), a child is the victim of a medication error every 8 minutes - and these are not occurring in hospitals or pharmacies, but in their own homes. Sometimes it happens when parents, tired and frazzled from caring for a...
Medicine 2.0: Digitizing the Doctor’s Office
Have you ever sat around waiting around for a doctor all day? Or wasted hours upon hours in the waiting room? All of that can end today, thanks to MDLIVE. MDLIVE is a digital doctor's office leading the way in the telehealth community. It's a service that allows...
It Pays To Invest In Preventive Care
The costs associated with healthcare are still rising and this is causing a renewed interest in preventive care. Among those with the keenest interest in preventive care are start-ups and entrepreneurs. Many companies are now working on new technologies that will help...
Drug Adherence Is Just As Important As Preventive Care
Chronic illness and the importance of preventive care was a topic of a previous article. With that having now been discussed, we can focus on something that's just as important – ensuring that those who are already suffering from chronic illnesses adhere to their...
Staying Out Of the Hospital
Our healthcare system is sick. There's no denying it at this point. With ever-increasing challenges and fiscal pressure, there's a growing consensus that what needs to be done to fix things is focus on preventative health rather than primarily worrying about treating...
Your Life Is In the Cloud
As far back as the '70s, people were predicting that we'd one day be working in paperless offices. I believed in it so much that one of my earliest business adventures established high volume document imaging and indexing for aerospace and media companies. While many...
How Automation Is Helping with Health Care
Sophisticated machines are playing an ever-increasing role in healthcare and their use is helping to reduce human errors and keep people healthy. As you read this, there are incredible pieces of machinery being employed in pharmacies, hospitals and even in private...
Telemedicine Is On the Rise and RxPense Should Be the Platform of Choice
In June 2015, it was reported that MDLive, a leading provider of virtual healthcare services, raised $50 million from Bedford Funding. A few months earlier, it was revealed that MDLive had partnered with Walgreens, America's largest drugstore chain, to offer $49...
The Cost of Hospital Care
Does anyone know what it costs to treat a patient in a hospital? Evidently very few do, according to a recent article in the New York Times1. “Hospitals know what they are paid by insurers, but it bears little relationship to their costs.” Dr. Vivian Lee, CEO of...
Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Automatic pill dispenser for Alzheimer's patients Help is on the way for patients who need help remembering, guidance while consuming and monitoring by loved ones. The RxPense pill dispenser was designed to be the most senior friendly, assistive device to help those...
