What features should a daily help app for seniors have?

Look for simple reminders for appointments, help keeping track of your medicines, an easy way to send your family a message, life stories, and syncing with your phone's calendar. Setting things up should be as easy as saying out loud what you need.

A daily help app is only worth having if it does the things you need and is easy to use. Here are the features to look for, and how Elsy handles each one.

Reminders and planning

A good daily help app should have solid reminders. You should be able to set one for a medicine or an appointment without any fuss. The US National Institute on Aging recommends, among other things, following a daily routine and using memory tools such as to-do lists, calendars and notes.

Setting up reminders

Setting up a reminder should be easy and fit what you need. With Elsy, you say something like "Remind me about the dentist every Thursday at 10," and she sets it up. The reminder arrives as a notification on your phone when it's time, and it can repeat every day, week, month or year. Reminders like these can help you keep a steady daily rhythm. See more about reminders and daily routines.

Managing medicines

Taking medicines on time matters for many older adults. An app that helps with medicines can keep track of doses and send reminders, so it's easier to take them as prescribed. According to the CDC, about half of filled prescriptions in the US are taken incorrectly, especially when it comes to timing, dose, how often and for how long. Among the reasons are forgetting to take a medicine and not being sure of the dose or schedule. With Elsy, the reminder arrives as a notification on your phone, and you can tap Taken in the notification or just say "I've taken my blood pressure pill." Get more tips on keeping track of medicines and appointments.

Blister packs from the pharmacy

Elsy can't order medicines for you. But if you take several medicines, some pharmacies offer a blister pack service. Consumer Reports explains that the pharmacy presorts your medicines into single-use packages by the time of day you take them, and some services mail them to you already sorted. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether it would suit you.

Staying in touch with family

Staying connected plays a big part in how older adults are doing. The WHO says strong social connections can lead to better health and a longer life, and that social isolation is estimated to affect up to one in three older adults. An app like Elsy gives you another way to stay in touch, by sending short updates to your family. Elsy can also be someone to talk to when no one else is around, but she doesn't replace time with other people.

Simple messaging

Sending a message should be quick. With Elsy, you say, for example, "Tell my daughter I'm doing well today," and she sends the message if your daughter is in Your circle. Messages only go one way, so your daughter answers you the way you usually keep in touch. Knowing how you're doing can give your family peace of mind.

Life stories and memories

Keeping your life stories is a good way to stay connected to your past. Some apps write the stories down for you after you've talked. Elsy writes them with your own words as quotes and a picture she has painted. Researchers pooled the results of 128 studies of programs in which older adults look back on and talk about their lives, and found small to moderate improvements, including in well-being and in people's sense of purpose in life.

Creating and sharing stories

Tell Elsy about your life, and she turns your experiences into stories. You can read them or have Elsy read them to you, and they may include short excerpts of your own voice. You can share them with your family whenever you like, which can strengthen family ties and give everyone a better sense of your family's history. See how life stories work.

Working with other tools

An app that works with the tools you already use, like your phone's calendar, can make planning your day simpler, because your appointments and reminders stay in sync.

Calendar sync

If you turn on Sync with calendar in Elsy, your reminders and medicines show up in your phone's calendar automatically. Elsy can also see your upcoming appointments, so she can talk with you about them. She can't add a new appointment to your calendar herself, but any reminder she creates does show up there.

How to get started

Download Elsy from the App Store or Google Play, open the app and tap Talk to Elsy. Start with a single reminder, then try the other features one at a time. You can try Elsy free for 3 days on your own phone. See how Elsy works step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Which reminder features matter most for seniors?

Reminders for your medicines, reminders for appointments like a visit to the dentist, and the option to sync with your phone's calendar.

How can a life story feature help me?

It gets your experiences and memories written down so you can share them with your family. Looking back on your life and telling others about it can give you a sense that your life has had meaning, and the stories can give your family something to talk about together.

What can my family see in the app?

That depends on the app. With Elsy, your family never sees transcripts or recordings of your conversations, apart from the life stories you send them, which contain your own words and may include short excerpts of your voice. What else they see depends on their level in Your circle, from Stories only up to Full trust, where they also see what Elsy remembers about you. If a family member set Elsy up and gave consent on your behalf, everyone in your circle is at Full trust. Read more about what your family can see.

This is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk to a doctor about yours.