Vial cap tells patients when to take the next pill

Up Front

The maker of the Rx Timer Cap has announced a new twist on its previous child-resistant “smart cap,” designed to help patients remember to take medications on time.

The new version employs an “EZ-Twist” removal system that makes it easy to open and close. A company statement calls this “a significant product enhancement for seniors and others requiring a non-child-proof cap.”

Like the original Rx Timer Cap, the EZ-Twist Cap incorporates a built-in LCD timer that automatically counts the minutes and hours since the vial was last opened. According to a company statement, “activation is automatic and foolproof since there are no buttons to press, no instructions to read, and nothing to program. The mere act of opening and closing the container resets the hour/minute timer.”

Use of the cap, the company says, reinforces medication adherence, prevents prescription overdose, and helps prevents drug diversion by alerting patients when someone else has opened their medication vials. Patients who take several drugs daily and the elderly, whose medications may be overseen by several caregivers, may benefit particularly.

In one study conducted with the drug Niaspan, there was a 33.9% increase in compliance with dosing instructions among patients using the Rx Timer Cap.

Both versions of the Timer Cap are available to fit the Rexam One-Clic and the Rexam Screw-Loc vial systems, as well as the Berry Friendly & Safe vials, and are free to many pharmacy customers nationwide.

Rexam and the makers of Rx Timer Cap recently announced that they have joined forces to adapt the smart cap for customers using existing Rexam packaging solutions. 

“We are excited that Rexam has sought us out and we look forward to working with the leading prescription vial manufacturer as we serve our pharmacy customers,” said Richard Million Burke Jr., president and founder of Rx Timer Cap.

Rx Timer Cap is available online at http://RxTimerCap.com and http://Facebook.com/RxTimerCap.