September 2019

MyTherapy allows you to configure personalized alarms for each medication that the user takes, assigning them the dose and the time, with the frequency corresponding to each one of them. In addition, it allows you to monitor the treatment in which it is indicated whether or not the medicine has been taken at the established time, and allows you to share this information with family members and your doctor.
The application, available for both Android and IOS, is divided into five large sections that will be analyzed in the following sections.

Interface

The interface of the application in general is well structured and simple. However, there are differences between the Android version and the IOS version, with some items being mislabeled or unclear. Next, an analysis of the interface will be carried out, presenting the main differences between both versions.
The main difference is that in the IOS version the application is structured in five tabs, while in Android the application is divided into six sections which are accessed from a menu. The five IOS tabs coincide with five of the six Android sections, although one of them is called Settings in Android and the other is called Others in IOS. In addition, the sixth section of Android is called Report, which in IOS is a button located within the Progress tab and is called PDF.
Another difference in the interface is in the names of some elements. For example, in Android when a drug is entered, there is a button to scan the barcode of the drug and it is called "Search manually". This button in IOS is called "Activate the barcode scanner".
Finally, when you are configuring a drug, in IOS you can set the alarm as standard or as long. In Android this is modified from the Android settings, and in the application it is possible to set whether critical reminders, constant reminders and whether the alarm sounds in do not disturb mode.

Sections

Therapy Section

This section shows a list of all the medications that the user has entered in the application. It is also possible from here to edit a drug by clicking on it. In addition, from here you can access a new menu called add by pressing the button of the same name and that allows you to enter data in the application.

Add menu

This menu allows you to add a drug to the user's therapy, a measurement, an activity, keep track of symptoms, plan and record.

Add medication

If you click on the drug option, a new window opens where you can scan the barcode of the drug or manually enter the name of the drug, in which case a list will be displayed with all the matching drugs and where the user can select yours.
Once the medicine has been selected, a new window opens in which you can enter the end date of taking the medicine, the frequency of taking, set the time or period of taking, set the alarm conditions and the available stocks , as well as modifying data related to the drug such as its name or company.

Add measurement

From this option you can enter data related to medical checks, such as the user's blood sugar level, heart rate or blood pressure. For each control you can set the time, enter the measurement, the frequency and set the alarm, as well as indicate whether the routine is planned or not.

Add activity

From this option it is possible to add the physical activities that the user performs, such as walking, running or cycling. For each activity you can set the time, enter the measurement, the frequency and set the alarm, as well as indicate whether the routine is planned or not.

Symptom control

From this option it is possible to keep track of the symptoms, being able to set the time, enter the measurement, the frequency and set the alarm, as well as indicate whether the routine is planned or not.

Progress Section

In this section the user can see a graph, when the Charts button is selected, with the days of the week and the doses of the drug that have been taken and those that have not. Shots taken are shown with a green tick while missed ones are shown with a gray X. If the list button is pressed, a list with the drugs that the user has in their therapy is displayed.
In addition, in the IOS version there is a button called PDF that allows the user to send a report with their health data in PDF format to their email. This functionality in Android is found in an option in the main menu called Report.

Equipment Section

This section allows the user to send a code so that other users can see their treatment progress, enter the invitation code that other users send them so that the first user can see the progress of other users and add the doctor's data such as his name or address so that it can access your health record.
Once a code from another user has been entered or information from another user has been accepted, they are displayed in this section.

Today Section

This section shows the shots that are pending for the current day, as well as those that are pending to be accepted or skipped.
In the IOS version there is also a button that allows you to add a personal phrase to Siri, in such a way that when said phrase is said Siri will execute the corresponding shortcut, such as viewing the user's medication list.

Report section (Android only)

This section, available only on Android since it is included in Progress in IOS, allows you to send a PDF report by email with the user's health data for a given month.

Settings / Others section

This section, called Settings in Android and Others in IOS, allows you to configure some aspects of the application, as well as access help and other information of interest, such as the version of the application, legal information, user information or privacy . It is also possible from here to send suggestions to developers or share the application with friends.

Tests performed

In order to be able to evaluate the application, a series of tests have been carried out on it. These have consisted in the introduction of some drugs and checking, from the point of view of different types of users, the operation and management of the application. The most relevant points of the analysis carried out will be presented below.
First of all, it should be noted that the introduction of the drug into the user's therapy is a simple procedure. The name of the drug can be entered manually or by scanning the barcode. Both methods work perfectly. The only thing that is somewhat uncomfortable, due to its slowness, is the dose adjustment, which is a selector. In the tests that have been carried out, the default value is 10mg, and to increase the dose you have to do it in 0,5mg increments, which can be somewhat slow.
A problem detected, which only affects people who use the screen reader in the IOS version of the application, is that the time taken for a saved medicine cannot be modified when the daily frequency option is selected. This is because to edit this value, you have to touch on an element that includes the dose and the time of taking, modifying one or the other depending on whether you touch on one value or another. However, both values ​​are part of the same item, and the VoiceOver screen reader always activates the first value for editing, corresponding to the dose.
Regarding the alarm settings, this has been somewhat more difficult. By default, the sound that comes as an alarm lasts a few seconds, which means that if you do not have the mobile near or in your hand, the warning may not be heard. In addition, while in Android you can put a song as a warning tone, in IOS you can only put the few tones that the application brings, which, except for one, are very short in duration. To this must be added that the alarm sounds for the duration of the tone, which is usually insufficient. Also, regarding the alarm, it can be set to be standard or prolonged, although there does not seem to be a difference between one mode or another. Adding that the configuration of the alarm sounds and the alarm itself is done partly in the application itself and another in the system settings, which can be a more complicated procedure for certain people. Also note that the alarm sometimes sounds and sometimes does not, and that sometimes the warning comes a few minutes after the set time.
On the subject of equipment, it should be noted that it is a very interesting option, especially for groups such as the elderly or with memory problems. What would be interesting is that more relevant information be shared, since data such as the drug and the dose taken are very important when taking more than one drug. In the tests that have been carried out, the only value that has been obtained is a percentage of the taking of the medicine.
The rest of the functions of the application have not exhibited any erroneous behavior. The progress graph is a very convenient and quick way to quickly see how the user has followed the treatment. The tasks for today is a good way to see the medication taken for today, although in people whose treatment includes several medications and several doses a day it can be somewhat uncomfortable, being more useful to be able to group it by medication or by dose.

Conclusion

My Thherapy is an application, in general, very simple and complete for the monitoring and registration of the user's medical therapy. It is well structured and organized, which results in great ease of use, allowing it to be very suitable for use by older people, among other groups. In addition, not only can you track and record medical treatment, but you can record measurements for a wide range of medical controls such as blood pressure, diabetes or heart rate, among others, as well as track physical activities, including physiotherapy, and symptoms.
The least positive aspect is in the issue of the configuration of the alarms and their sounds, which can be somewhat more complex than normal. To this is added that sometimes the alarm sounds and others not, or that it is delayed for a minute.
It should also be noted that the application, although it is not intended for groups with special needs, can be used by them with little inconvenience. The only issue in this regard detected is that people who use VoiceOver cannot change the time of taking the medicine when it is daily.
In summary, MyTherapy is a very interesting application for people who have to keep track of their medical treatment and a control of medical constants. It is also a highly recommended application for elderly people who live alone, since they can share the progress of their treatment with family members or with their doctor in order to verify that said treatment is being followed.

Highlights

• Very complete record of medical treatment, measurements, activities and symptom control.
• Well organized and structured.
• Easy to use.
• Version for Android and IOS.
• Completely free.

Improvement points

• It could be suggested to study the improvement of the configuration and operation of the warnings and alarms.
• It would be interesting to include in future versions more relevant information to share with family and friends.
• It might be suggested to replace selectors with text fields in future versions.
• The possibility of grouping doses by hours or by medications in tasks could be studied.
• It would be interesting to increase the accessibility in the edition of the medicine.