Smart Medication Management System: An IoT- Based Solution for Healthcare Adherence

Abstract

The Smart Medication Management System is an innovative solution designed to address the critical challenge of medication adherence, particularly for patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and dementia. A significant portion of the population, especially the elderly, relies on multiple daily medications, yet frequent missed doses and incorrect intake remain prevalent issues. This system comprises a hardware unit with multiple smart containers, LED indicators, and voice alerts to notify users at prescribed times, alongside a mobile application for remote management. The hardware includes twenty-eight containers for weekly medicine doses and specialized compartments for critical medications. By integrating intelligent alerts and user-friendly controls, this system enhances medication adherence, reduces human error, and improves healthcare outcomes for chronic disease patients.

Introduction

The text describes a Smart Medication Management System designed to help patients—especially elderly individuals—take medicines correctly and on time, addressing common issues like missed doses and medication errors. With millions of people in India relying on daily medication, the system aims to improve adherence using both hardware and software.

The hardware consists of a medication box with multiple compartments, LEDs for visual alerts, a speaker for audio reminders, and a push button to confirm medication intake. An ESP32 microcontroller acts as the central control unit, using shift registers to manage multiple LEDs efficiently and supporting IoT connectivity.

The software side is an Android application that allows users or caregivers to set medication schedules, including dosage and timing, which are sent to the device via Wi-Fi in JSON format. The system also includes a secure startup process, real-time scheduling, and continuous monitoring of all compartments.

During operation, the system triggers visual and audio alerts when medication is due, provides a response window for user confirmation, and uses a snooze mechanism (15, 45, and 105 minutes) if doses are missed. It also performs continuous status checks like battery monitoring.

Conclusion

The Smart Medication Management System provides an effective solution to medication non-adherence among elderly individuals and professionals. By combining hardware with LED/voice alerts and a mobile application, the system ensures timely reminders and accurate intake. Future scope includes connecting the system to electronic health record (EHR) platforms and telemedicine services to enable clinician-informed decision-making based on real-world adherence metrics.

References

[1] M. AI Mahmoud and H. Ren, \"AI Health – IoT based Smart Medicine Box,\" 2nd International Conference on Advancements in Electrical, Electronics, Communication, Computing and Automation (ICAECA), 2023. [cite: 657] [2] M. A. Kader et al., \"Design of An IoT Based Smart Medicine Box,\" IEEE Devices for Integrated Circuit (DevIC), 2023. [cite: 659] [3] J. Baikerikar et al., \"Intelligent Medicine Box for COVID-like Pandemic,\" 8th International Conference for Convergence in Technology (I2CT), 2023. [cite: 660] [4] B. Chen et al., \"Research and Implementation of an Intelligent Medicine Box,\" IGBSG, 2019. [cite: 660] [5] H. Zeidan et al., \"Smart Medicine Box System,\" IEEE IMCET, 2018. [cite: 660]

Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Neha Nandkumar Kadam, Dr. S. M. Jagdale. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.