Samsung’s Health app is a pretty convenient way to keep track of user health metrics and sync health data with Galaxy Watch devices, and it looks like the South Korean tech giant has decided to expand its functionality, particularly for users who are looking for an easy way to keep an eye on their medication.
More specifically, Samsung recently announced that it was adding a new Medications Tracking feature in the Samsung Health app, which will help users conveniently keep track of prescription and over-the-counter medication, and even provide useful information about their meds. Hon Pak, Vice President and Head of Digital Health Team, MX Business at Samsung Electronics states:
“Samsung Health aims to help people better understand and manage their health through a holistic platform by connecting devices, services and people… With the addition of the new Medications tracking feature, we believe users will be able to more conveniently manage their medications, improve adherence and ultimately maintain better health overall.”
Once a user inputs the name of their selected medication into the Samsung Health app, the Medications Tracking feature will proceed to display detailed information such as general descriptions, as well as any possible side effects. Samsung Health will also indicate any adverse reactions that could occur between drug-to-drug interactions or if taken alongside certain food and substances such as caffeine and alcohol.
For example, if a user is taking the prescription drug Simvastatin, Samsung Health will provide warnings that the drug might pose certain side effects when combined with grapefruit juice, for example. Users can also enter the shape and colour of their medication for easy distinction between different types of medication. Additionally, users can choose to add other details such as dosage and time of consumption to avoid any confusion.
Using the Medications Tracker feature, a user can choose to set up reminders to take their meds, as well as to stock up in case they’re running low on supplies. The alerts are designed to be fine-tuned for the individual user, and will prioritize medications depending on their importance – for example, Samsung Health will send reminders ranging from “gentle” to “strong” depending on how important or urgent a given prescription is.
For crucial medications, users can choose to program a “strong” reminder that will display a full screen notification on their smartphone. Meanwhile, reminders for supplements like vitamins will come in the form of a more “toned-down” pop-up notification. For users with Samsung Galaxy Watch devices, notifications will likewise appear on their wearable.
At the moment, Samsung says that the the Medications tracking feature for Samsung Health will first roll-out for users in the United States. There’s no word yet on which regions the feature will expand to, but we can expect the Medications tracker to arrive for more countries in the coming months.
