Patient Complies Or Pet Dies
A BBC article Pill reminders from robot pets goes on to explain that
Much like the Tamagotchi, the electronic pets that had to be fed and cared for lest they expire, the Pill Pets, to thrive, have to be informed that their reminders to take medication are being acted on.
According to Dr Coughlin of the AgeLab, “We’re trying to get in [to people's minds] on another channel – rather than on an intellectual level, on an emotional level. We’re trying to find a way to get people to take care of themselves.”
Commentary
Reaching folks on an emotional rather than intellectual level to achieve compliance rings true, but it does evoke in me a few thoughts:
1. It’s not clear to me why this kind of effort is focused exclusively on the elderly, who certainly aren’t the only age group with poor adherence to medication schedules.
2. I’m also pretty sure that, were my mother being emotionally blackmailed by a circuit board masquerading as a lovable furry semi-mammal, she might well drop kick that Pill Pet into the nearest trash container.
3. Does this tactic remind anyone else of an analogous effort?
Footnotes
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