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How to set medication reminders on your iPhone
In This Article
One of the most useful additions to iOS 16 and watchOS 9 is the ability to log medications in the Apple Health app.
The update allows users to manage medications, vitamins and supplements under one roof, with regularly scheduled reminders that track when you take or skip your meds, along with what is essentially a 10-minute snooze button in case you’re busy when you get the alert.
If you’re in the US, you can even scan medications with your iPhone camera, search for meds in Apple’s database and get some insight into how your drugs could be interacting.
Hopefully, these features will arrive in the UK in the future, but, for now, we’re limited to the basic logging features over here, which include reminders and medication history to monitor how often you take or skip your meds over a 28-day period.
Scroll down to learn how to set medication reminders on youriPhonewithiOS 16.
What you’ll need:
The Short Version
How to set medication reminders on your iPhone
Step1
Open the Health app
Make sure your phone is running iOS 16 first to access the new medication tracking feature.
Step2
Tap Browse
This is in the bottom right corner.
Step3
Select Medications
You should find this option midway down the list of Health Categories.
Step4
Tap Add A Medication
If you’ve added a medication in the past, your screen might look different to ours.
Step5
Enter the name of your medication
Then, tap Next.
Step6
Choose your medication type
This can be a capsule, tablet, liquid or more.
Step7
Add your medication’s strength
You can skip this step if you’re unsure.
Step8
Pick a shape for your medication icon
You can also skip this step.
Step9
Choose how frequently you’ll be taking this medication
You can tap Add A Time to choose a specific time for your reminders.
Step10
Customise the colours of your medication and background
Tap Next when you’re done.
Step11
Hit Done to save
You can also review your reminder and add any optional details at this stage.
Troubleshooting
The Health app allows users to search Apple’s database for their medication and even use their iPhone’s camera to scan the label on the back. However, this feature is only available in the US.
This is another US-only feature.If you’re in the United States, you can tap Drug Interactions in the Your Medications section of the Health app to view any Moderate, Serious or Critical interactions between the drugs you’re taking. However, only drugs in Apple’s database are included here, meaning you won’t be able to view possible interactions regarding unlisted drugs.
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Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
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Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
