By Regina Hill, AW2 spouse
AW2 Family the Hills, pictured here during the 2009 AW2 Symposium, believe EMMA® is a blessing in managing prescriptions.
I am the wife of a severely injured Soldier. We began this journey on November 21, 2007, when my husband’s truck was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED). I often talk about blessings we have received since his injury. Trust me, we have received plenty. I am so thankful to be able to see the good in such a time of turmoil and tragedy. Some days it is difficult, but most of the time, the good shines brightly on our lives.
One of the blessings we received came in the form of a machine called EMMA®. EMMA® is an Electronic Medication Management Assistant, lovingly referred to in our house as the pill automated teller machine (ATM). EMMA® helps my husband, Allen, manage his medications independently and safely. We have two of these units which each hold 10 medications. They sit on our kitchen counter and do an incredible job!
EMMA® is amazing. “She” does so many things and can really be individualized for each patient. Allen takes medications four times a day and she can be programmed for up to five times a day. When it is time for him to take his meds, an alarm sounds. He then enters a code on the machine’s touch screen. The machine then drops the medications that are due at that time. It gives him a little bit of time to take his meds, then alerts again for him to confirm that he has taken them. (This is very helpful in that he can’t walk away and forget them.) If he forgets to take his meds or happens to be outside and misses them, I get a phone call on my cell phone. EMMA® calls me as the caregiver to tell me that my spouse has not taken his medications.
Another great feature of EMMA® is a vacation drop. If we are going to be out of town for a few days, or a single day, we can do a vacation drop. We enter the day we are leaving and the day we are returning. EMMA® then drops each dose scheduled for those days individually and tells me to put each dose in a zip-close bag and label it. It then continues for each dose for the length of our vacation. Later, when we are away, EMMA® calls my cell phone when it is time for Allen to take his medications, just like the alarm does when we are at home.
There are also capabilities for doing a single drop and those for as needed medications. It will not let medications be dropped too close together. For example, Allen takes medications for migraines on an as needed basis. If he can take them every six hours, it will not let any drop before the six hour time frame has passed. It will tell you on the screen the next drop time available.
EMMA® is set up with a monitoring system, much like that of a home security system. That is how this all works. EMMA® communicates regularly, through wireless Internet or cell phones. Because of this monitoring, medical professionals can see many things about their patient. The doctor can make medication changes remotely and also check on the patient’s compliance with taking their medications. The possibilities are really endless with what can be done with this wonderful machine.
As a full time caregiver, EMMA® definitely makes my life easier as well. Before receiving EMMA® last February, medication management was my job. Allen takes 17 different meds and I was responsible for dispensing them all. It was quite a job and took a lot of time each day. If I was going to be gone, I had a huge task in making sure whoever was going to fill in for me and knew exactly what to do in regards to the meds. This usually was my mom or sister and it put a lot of added stress and responsibility on them. EMMA® takes all of this away. She does this part of the caretaking for me. It is a huge relief when I am away to know that Allen’s meds are all safely administered.
On a personal note, EMMA® actually saved my husband’s life. A few months ago, Allen unloaded a card of pills and took most of them, and then put the card back in. (We have now set the machine so that he does not have the codes to load/unload the machine so this can’t happen again.) I knew something was wrong but wasn’t sure what. I called EMMA® support to check everything out and they could tell me everything that had been done to the machine. They were able to tell me he had taken out a card, at what time, how many were in it when he took it out, and how many were in it when he put it back in. Without EMMA®, I would have had no idea what was wrong for who knows how long. Instead, I was able to get him to the ER for medical treatment. Everything worked out, but I am glad I did not have to see what would have happened without EMMA®.
Editor’s Note: EMMA® is an Electronic Medication Management Assistant especially for outpatients suffering from cognitive impairments such as traumatic brain injury (TBI), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and those patients needing assistance with poly-pharmacy drug therapy (4 or more medications) or with a history of non-adherence. EMMA is a piece of durable medical equipment (DME) and a TRICARE benefit for all active duty servicemembers that is prescribed by the physician. This system is being used at several Warrior Transition Units and multiple Community Based Warrior Transition Units. It is remotely programmed by the TRICARE pharmacy, insuring that the patient’s medications are delivered according to the physician’s prescribed dosing instructions. It holds up to 10 medication administration cartridges (can be added with an additional EMMA unit to hold up to and deliver twenty medications, uses a standard 115 volt home outlet, and requires no programming by the patient or caregiver. It helps manage medications and provides reminders. To learn more about EMMA® go to www.inrangesystems.com or http://www.facebook.com/emmausers.
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I am an AW2 advocate in (Beautiful) Wichita. One of the soldiers I’ve worked with was using the Emma machine while on active duty but when he switched over to using the VA health system they did not support the Emma machine (They use a different system). Mainly because the VA doesn’t “blister” pack the medications.
But, we were able to get the VA to authorize that this soldier’s medication be provided through an outside source so it could be “blister” packed and the Veteran could continue using the machine that is wonderful and so helpful. This was not an easy process, for months the VA pharmacy didn’t know they had “automated” machines to dispense pills. (They are issued through prosthetics here in Wichita, it may be different at different locations.)