As a family caregiver, even with the help of family, friends, and respite care, trying to keep everything organized and prepared can get complicated. There’s a lot on your plate—managing medication, scheduling appointments, tracking health information, organizing documents, and more—all while caring for your parent or family member.

With new applications for smart devices being created every day, it’s no surprise that there are countless apps to help manage caregiving duties. These apps can help with everything, from scheduling medication to practicing self-care for overwhelmed caregivers.

HarborChase Senior Living breaks down the most helpful smartphone apps and how they can simplify caregiving duties and promote caregiver health.

Best Apps for Medication Tracking

Medisafe

This easy-to-use app sends you reminders when it’s time for each medication your parent or family member takes. It also notifies you when prescriptions are running low and, if your parent takes multiple medications, it lets you know if there are any medications that shouldn’t be taken together.

Medisafe has several other useful features, like the ability to share information with healthcare providers and medication coupons and discounts. 

Medisafe is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

 

CareZone

This app is another simple way to manage your parent’s medications and prescriptions. It allows you to scan photos of prescription bottles to instantly create a comprehensive list of medications, schedules, and when to refill. There’s also the option to share this information with healthcare providers through the app.

Care Zone is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

 

Apps for Health Management

Symple

Symple allows you to keep track of your parent’s symptoms and vitals. You can record diet, sleep, and activity levels, as well as mental well-being, and monitor these over time. You can even take timestamped photos to record physical appearance.

Symple keeps track of all this information so you can easily get a snapshot of your family member’s health over time.

Symple is available for free in the Apple App Store.

 

First Aid: American Red Cross

With so much to remember, family caregivers can often forget the importance of the basics—like first aid and CPR. The American Red Cross First Aid app provides a comprehensive list of what to do in emergency situations, broken down into clear categories.

The app also helps users identify and decode symptoms, and can navigate you to the nearest hospital.

First Aid is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

 

Apps for Caregiver Communication

Caring Village

Caring Village allows you to create a “village” of caregivers for your family member. Using the app, your group can communicate, coordinate care, and arrange help with transportation and meals. The app also lets you assign roles to certain people.

You can also use this app to store relevant documents that you, and your village of caregivers, may need to access while caring for your parent.

Caring Village is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Caring Bridge

This app, similar to Caring Village, allows you to connect multiple caregivers in order to share responsibilities, schedules, and more. In addition, Caring Bridge is a secure way to share health updates on your parent or family member, working as a private social network for friends and family to send love and support.

Caring Bridge is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

 

Apps for Dementia Caregivers

Dementia Caregiver Solutions

This app provides dementia caregivers with expert advice on common dementia-related challenges. You can use this app to learn new strategies to manage your family member’s behavior and view other helpful resources.

Dementia Caregiver Solutions is available for $2.99 in the Apple App Store.

MindMate

MindMate is an excellent resource featuring daily care plans, brain-stimulating games, healthy recipe ideas, and much more. This app even has a feature to store photos and memories, which can be beneficial for those with dementia.

MindMate is available for free in the Apple App Store and as a desktop version.

 

Apps for Caregiver Health

Calm

Sometimes family caregivers forget their own health needs, but it’s vital to take time for yourself to refresh and focus. Meditation is a great way to do this, and the Calm app walks you through guided meditations that can relax your body, mind, and soul.

Calm is available in a free version and a premium version on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Being a family caregiver comes with a lot of responsibilities and moving parts. With the help of these apps, you can easily manage your caregiving duties so that you have more time to focus on what really matters.

HarborChase Senior Living supports family caregivers through educational tips and resources, but also through services like our respite care program. If you’re interested in learning more about how you and your family could benefit from HarborChase respite care, we encourage you to contact a member of our team!