Prince Didn’t Need to Die. We Have the Technology.
Prince didn’t need to die. He could still be here right here, right now, rocking the world with the brilliance of his mind and the vastness of his heart. This planet didn’t need to lose one of the most creative minds in recent history because, for as much brilliance as he brought to music, there is an equal amount of brilliance working furiously to solve the epidemic of death due to pain medication overdose. We are not helpless to this epidemic.
Full disclosure: I don’t work in healthcare, I’m just another musician who fell apart the day Prince died. He was everything. I saw him in concert two months before he died and everything about him made me weep — his voice, his skill on any instrument, the ease of his magnificent stage presence. Like Haley’s Comet, his like will not be seen again in my lifetime.
I don’t personally know anything about pain medication. Opioids, fentanyl — these aren’t in my daily vocabulary. The only reason I know about opioid addiction and the OD epidemic is because my wife is one of those people who dedicates her life’s work to solving it. I’ve always thought that what she does is important, but the day Prince died I realized her work wasn’t just about keeping people healthy — it’s about saving lives, saving families, saving communities, saving geniuses, and even saving music and art.
Enough about me. I’ve put together a list of all the people and companies I could find who are trying to end this epidemic one overdose death at a time through the use of cutting edge technology. Some of these companies are just apps, some aren’t commercially available yet, some have secure locking devices which are key in controlling pain meds, some are simply solid systems for basic medication adherence. The bottom line is: these things can help our world be healthier, and make our lives better and longer. And at least one of them could have saved Prince.
Pillboxes That Lock (i.e. most useful for addictive medication)
MedMinder: A tackle-box looking device with compartments for up to four weeks of pills. Users get reminders and, if they don’t open the compartment, the reminder ratchets up to eventually include loved ones. Seems geared toward the older set as it’s not particularly portable.
uBox: This is my lady’s start up. It’s a portable, bluetooth enabled device which is rechargeable and connects to an app that provides adherence data to users, care providers and loved ones in real-time, on your smart phone. You can also buy it right now. (Spoiler alert: this is currently the only available device on this list which could have saved Prince. Is that me bragging about my brilliant wife? Hell yes. The world should know she made something that could’ve actually saved The Purple One…then foolishly married me.)
HeroHealth: an appliance the size of a small coffee machine that sits on your countertop, dispenses medication into a cup at the touch of a button, and sends text reminders and confirmations. Currently taking pre-orders.
Dose Health: a smart pillbox and matching app which tracks adherence in real-time. Looks and acts similar to the uBox but is not yet available.
Pillboxes That DON’T Lock
PillDrill: A combination base station, a multi-compartment pill dock, and what appears to be a text messaging/tracking system.
Pill Bottles That Don’t Lock
AdhereTech: a smart pill bottle currently used for clinical trials which tracks data in a dashboard and can send reminder texts or phone calls to users.
GlowCap: One of the first products to market in this space, it’s a pillbox lid that chimes and companion plug-in device that glows when medication needs to be taken. It also emails users (and caregivers) weekly and monthly adherence reports. Seems focused toward an older, homebound generation.
Smrxt: A smart pill bottle that tracks bottle opening in real-time.
Apps
Medisafe: An app which reminds you to take your medication and stores medication information. Described on its website as “a virtual pillbox”.
So there it is. Kudos to Howard Kornfeld and his son for racing to Prince’s aid. But help could’ve been at Prince’s side every hour of every day, everywhere he went, even when he was alone. And Prince could still be here today, along with the 28,000 other friends, artists, lovers, co-workers, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who lose the addiction battle every year. It doesn’t need to be this way. We have the technology to stop it. All we need now is the will.
