28-Day Automatic Pill Dispenser (1700) — Locked Medication Organizer for Elderly, Sound Alarm, 4 Daily Doses, Battery Backup, Tamper-Resistant, Made in USA

After comparing specifications at Amazon of several auto-dispensing devices to find a mid-point of cost and reliability, I chose this one. It arrived promptly, well-packed, in good condition, with all parts and instructions. Durability: It has been in service for 56 days without a hitch. It's tamper-resistant, not tamper-proof, which is fine for a non-hostile environment. It's mainly plastic, so treat it gently. If you feel the need to use force, you're doing it wrong - go back and read the instructions until they sink in. I read some reports that it's hard to get the lid on: If you look closely, you will see many regularly-spaced tangs that fit into slots under the outer edge of the lid. Here I disagree with the instructions, which say to press your hands "at 9 and 3 o'clock" to rotate the lid into place, and may actually make it more difficult because the plastic lid is somewhat flexible, permitting slight misalignment of the tangs and slots. Instead, place the lid like it says - turned slightly clockwise so the tangs align with the slots - then lightly swipe your fingertips around the outside edge on top of it to jostle any misalignments into place. Then use uniform mild pressure to rotate the lid counterclockwise so the central viewport aligns with the face of the digital display, then lock it. Of course before putting on the lid: remove any templates, make sure the key is in and the lock is unlocked, make sure none of the pill cups are so full that pills prevent the lid from settling into place or interfere with rotation of the carousel, make sure the alarm/dispensing lever is pushed toward the center until it clicks into place, and make sure the small dispensing door on the lid is closed toward the outer edge. The position of the lever and the door are critical to avoiding damage. The instructions say what to do, but they don't stress the importance. In normal operation, the alarm sounds, then you open the dispensing door all the way (pushing the internal lever toward the center) until the alarm shuts off, then remove the pills, and then close the door. Performance: The clock stays on time and the backup battery remains charged via the AC power cable. The alarm is loud enough for people with average hearing and certainly long enough to be noticed. If one's hearing is impaired, and/or most of his time is spent in another room, the alarm may go unnoticed. I can't fault the manufacturer for compromising on how obnoxious the alarm should be. Generally it's good enough. Complaints: None, really. None of the other $800 kryptonite models were on sale for $10; but I "got what I paid for" and more, because I had no experience with such devices and experience has taught me to mistrust the reliability of mechanisms made of plastic. Setting the alarms was a bit tricky until I figured out the timing of when to press and hold the buttons; this is similar to the timeouts you may experience when using functions on a cell-phone. It would be nice if there were small pins on the inner control facing that fit into corresponding holes in the templates so the templates don't easily slide out of position while filling the pill cups. Overall: Most of the stuff I buy from Amazon is, in the grand scheme of things, trivial and/or commonplace - who's going to benefit from reading review #1,000,001 of Windows 7 Pro? This device is not in that class; it's a good machine that is aiding an elder's health. Having moderate experience with machines, I have no reason to think this one will fail any time soon. If it does, you will know it.

I purchased this product more than two years ago and I have to say its been a FANTASTIC product. Its allowed my father (now 87) to remain at his care level (which is VERY EXPENSIVE service for med management) this box has paid for itself MANY times over at his assisted living facility. It has worked consistently and flawlessly even when the power cable is removed. Its great and easy to pack up when he comes to visit us... we grab it and pack it in his suit case since the pills stay locked in there little dose containers until dispensed. My dad is VERY independent, and this tool has allowed him to feel like he can be independent of his nursing staff which is a HUGE plus for him. After living years independently, in just a few short years my father lost so many of his freedoms... his home, his wife, his car, and other simple things... this tool allows him to take back and keep some of his own self-care in "his" control. Before I had purchased this product, he was constantly being chased around by med management nurses two or three times a day with a dixie cup and water... Now he's taken this back and also uses this box to also tell him when to take his inhalers which he keeps on top of the box. It only took a week or so for it to become an integral part of my dads life. The locking keys are a MUST... since his assisted living place has a requirement that pills be locked up at all times including his bottles. I found I could put a full 14 days worth of pills in this box and it would dispense up to 4 separate times (of which I only used two). Filling by me only takes a few minutes every so often and its really easy to administer additional medications on an unplanned basis. My dad had pneumonia a couple months ago and adding a 10 day antibiotic to his regiment of pills was cake. Eventually my dad will probably age to the point of not being able to use this box at all... in which I'll probably fill it with Tick Tacs just so he can gage his day by the alarms hes become so accustomed too... its been that helpful in marking the periods of his day. Hopefully this review is of some help to someone out there with an aging mother and father. Paul

Pills can be put in for1 to 4 times a day. Correctly assembled this product alarms at the correct time and the pills are available for the person. For someone who may forget to take their pills or who might not remember what pills to take this is a very good choice. However locking the case is of no value for keeping them from overtaking pills. The person need only to put his finger in the current opening and push it to the side and there is your next set of pills waiting for you, push it again and more pills etc. It took two days for my family member to discover this so this devise did not help me in keeping him on the correct regimen. Upon arrival I realized that this may not be sutible for my relative's use and I tried to return it. But there is no return on this product even if it has not been used.

We purchased two of these for our elderly parents. The timer and alarm work well to reminder them to take their meds, but I would rather have larger tray spaces to fit more pills (they can't fit all the large nutritional supplements). To get around this, I wound up setting two alarms, one five minutes after the first, so they can get all their pills around the same time in the morning. It's also difficult to get the top on an off. The lid feels a bit cheap and doesn't snap back into place easily. It has two keys, which is great for me to have a backup. I think it's a bit expensive for what you get, but overall, it's a good resource for us.

I purchased this product after making the mistake of purchasing a cheaper competitor product. (That product broke the FIRST day!) At first, I hesitated to spend more money on what seemed to be a very similar design; however, this has turned out to be one of my best purchases. I purchased this for someone with a mental illness who can be impulsive and confused at times. I didn't need something that was absolutely tamper-proof, just tamper-resistant. I wanted something that would automatically turn and dispense at the proper time, but didn't want an audible alarm. The alarm on this CAN be set to silent mode. Set up is quick and easy, following the enclosed instructions. There are also set-up videos which are helpful. (For example, the video helped me realize that once the alarm times are set, I needed to make sure the light above the alarm number was on. If it isn't, the alarm isn't actually set.) The product is quite large, but I would have liked to have more room in each medication space. Although the medications (one large tablet and several smaller pills) fit, there was not room to also hold fish oil and vitamins. I suppose I could have set additional alarms for those, and given them their own slots. Instead, I am leaving the fish oil and vitamins out, and teaching the person to take them when they take their medication.

I've used these MedReady devices for the past 15 years with both of my parents who are now in their 90's. They can hear the alarm easily when the scheduled pill time to goes off. They can't double dose because the pill chamber is locked and only one dose is open for them to take. If they miss taking a scheduled dose I am able to unlock the device to see if the pills were missed or not. The pill chambers are a good size. I've had as many as 10 pills in one. The chambers are also easy for my parents to scoop the pills out. I like that it has rechargeable batteries but can also be plugged in. For travel the batteries keep things running and when I get to where I'm going I just plug in again. I've never had to replace the batteries. I've tried other devices in the past, but none have come close to these for ease and reliability.

I need a way to help my 101 year old father take his medications safely. I live 2 hours from him and need something foolproof. I looked at several less expensive products. I chose this because it plugs in and has battery. I was afraid the batteries would die and I’d have to drive 2 hours so dad could get his medicine. Reviews of other products mentioned that if the unit was tipped or dropped, the pill were displaced to other compartments. I practiced with this one once received and put very small pills in it. I shook it all around and upside down and they were not displaced. The alarm is very loud and in a low tone that is easily heard by the elderly. My dad has trouble learning to use anything new. He was able to silence the alarm and retrieve the pills properly the first time. So far, this item is just what I need to keep dad safe and not cause unnecessary trips to straighten it out.

This has been a lifesaver for us. I read about it being used for both the people who are in the earlier stages of dementia and can still manage their own meds and also from caregivers. It’s the most affordable med dispensing box that works really well. My dad didn’t seem to be doing very well with his advancing dementia. We can’t get his mobile home moved just yet, so we’re just working on making him safe for a few more weeks. We started finding his med box refilled wrong or mixed up. We were worried Dad was going to overdose or miss important meds. Once we filled this box, I left simple written instructions for him and we went over and over the “how to” for a few days. He had been so overwhelmed with managing his meds (we didn’t realize how much!) This box changed everything. You can set it to go off a when the dose is needed, a loud alarm sounds and won’t go off until they slide the cover open to reveal the dose of pills for that time. Dad is so relieved, and so are we. Great investment.