Punctual Patients

Building A Healthier Lifestyle

The Problem

A growing number of Americans - currently more than 133 million - have some chronic health condition that requires them to take medication on a regular basis, yet 33% to 69% do not adhere to their prescribed regimens. This nonadherence results in complications that cost approximately 125,000 people their lives, and the United States an estimated $100 to $200 billion annually (8).

People often forget to take medication
People who are reliant on medication suffer when they don't use it
People are unable to get accurate prescriptions for the doses of medication they actually need, due to the lack of information about prescribed vs. actual use
People are unable to easily communicate with their doctors when they miss a pill

Problem Characteristics

Problem History

Approximately 60% of all medical patients who rely on daily medication admit that they often forget to take their medications. (1)
Among elderly patients, this number is as high as 75%. (2)
For many people, forgetting to take a daily medication can be the difference between life and death. (3)
People who forget to take their medication, often don't know what to do when they miss a pill. (4)
Getting this information from busy doctors be challenging or feel tedious.
42% of people feel they could better follow treatment plans, including medications, with encouragement from their provider between visits (5)
On average, doctors spend 49 seconds during a visit telling the patient about a new medication. (5)
93% of adolescents who received a text message about asthma medication adherence reported that the automated text reminder helped them better take care of their asthma. (6)
One-third of patients never claim their prescribed medication from the pharmacy and of those nearly 3 out of 4 don't take it as prescribed. (7)

Our Solution

An easy to use app to provide a multifaceted approach to solving the known problems of patient non-adherence. Helping ensure better patient outcomes by getting them to pick up their prescriptions, take them properly, and enhance doctor-patient engagement.

Solution Statement

Punctual Patient is a smartphone app and web API that will simplify the process of adhering to complex medication protocols. Our software shall:

Eliminate speculation of medication adherence.
Minimize the work required by the patient to oversee their medication protocol.
Improve a patient’s quality of life and ability to adhere to their prescribed medication protocol..
Increase pharmaceutical sales by reducing the one-third of prescribed medications that are never picked up. (6)

Solution Characteristics

Meet The Team

Hakan Aras

Android Back End Developer

Hakan Aras is a senior student at Old Dominion University. He is currently working on his bachelor's degree in Computer Science. He currently lives in Northern Virginia and plans to find a job after graduating.

Anna Baker

Web App Front End Developer

Anna is an enthusiastic software engineer with a diverse background. She pivoted after working in education, and enrolled at ODU in 2017. She thrives in challenging environments, believes in lifelong learning, and enjoys working collaboratively to build smart solutions.

Matt Duffy

Database Developer

Matt is a senior in Computer Science, going the non-traditional route. Working full time as a software developer for a software consulting firm in Milwaukee, WI. He also holds a degree in marine biology.

Lance Hampton

Android Front End Developer

Lance is a junior CS major with a minor in cybersecurity. He is employed full time with the DoD as an electronics and cyber security implementation specialist. Lance has nine years of experience working on large engineering teams that focus on complete life-cycle management of highly technical projects.

Justin Hash

Web App Back End Developer

Justin is a senior CS major with a minor in Computer Engineering. He is a prior navy submariner who decided to look for a career shift. He has worked with the university at CLT doing full stack web development.

Josh Tucker

Android Back End Developer

Josh is a full time student, worker, and father who loves to delve into the impossible and learn new skills. He is a nontraditional Senior CS major minoring in engineering management, he hopes to finally tie a bachelor's degree to his professional experience.