Hiwassee Dam – “All I want to do is help people,” Robert Lee Garland said with a smile while sitting alongside his wife, Suzhen Zhang-Garland.
Garland’s grandfather suffered from dementia, and he saw firsthand the difficulties he had taking his medications properly. Today, Garland holds the invention patent on several different models of automatic pill dispensers that have been proven to greatly assist Alzheimer’s and dementia patients with medication adherence, thereby allowing them to stay at home longer.
There are many medical conditions that make it difficult for patients to take the proper amount and dose of prescribed medication in pill form. Working with engineers, Garland came up with a pill dispenser that’s automatic, has a tilt feature so it can be mounted to a wall and rotates while dispensing the correct amount of medication for the patient.
The dispenser also has a series of lights that color codes the designated space for each pill. The device is programmable and has an alert system installed, which lets family members know when pills are taken.
The dispenser also has a locking feature. Garland believes it helps prevent overdoses due to medication errors and, in general, provides peace of mind for family members.
The process, starting in 1989, has been a lengthy one, with several court battles over the product having been stolen and counterfeited. However, Garland won his court battles, and the monies returned to him as a result will go toward helping people.
His pill dispensers have been on the market for more than 20 years. They are selling in 70 countries, with the goal of distribution in 120 countries.
“Right pill, right dose, at the right time,” Garland said. He is negotiating with a major pharmaceutical company regarding worldwide distribution.
The automatic pill dispensers can be found on Amazon, eBay and walmart.com under the name Med-E-Lert. More models will be rolling out in the future.