Pill Identification 12+

I use this app each time I find a random pill around the house and also to define different pill manufacturers. Sometimes the manufacturer changes and at one time I was given an incorrect medicine at the pharmacy before. It’s always good to verify each time you’re given a renewed prescription. I love how you can have contact with a pharmacist too. App is a little slow with response, but it’s still a pretty good app.

I downloaded Pill ID a few months ago after finding a random pill in my kitchen. (It turned out to just be Allegra)

Last week, I was in a flight from Boston to Dallas and was sitting next to a 70 year old woman. Shortly after take off, she fell asleep. No big deal. Many people fall asleep on planes.

When the meal service came by, the flight attendant and I realized that she had became non-responsive. She did not wake after we both shook her and yelled.

The flight attendant found a doctor and gave her oxygen. It took oxygen and the doctor aggressively slapping her face to wake her up. She was still non-verbal. We went through her bag and found an unmarked bottle of pills. Luckily, I remembered that I had downloaded the Pill ID app. I was able to identify 4 different narcotic pain killers. (Trazodone, Gabapentin, Hydrocodone, and another.) based on this info and observation, the doctor was able to diagnose her as "Stoned" (his words) and not in medical crisis.

I believe that having this app prevented us from diverting to another airport. If we had found medication for a serious ailment, it could have saved her life.

Everyone should have this app.

4 stars because the app is pretty slow. Will change to 5 stars if it speeds up.

Tested it with five pills I know and it found 2/5. Not impressive out of the gate. And yes I followed the tutorials and instructions.

UI assessment took a big hit because of the slow, ridiculous animated character. Some advice to the dev:

-Your target audience isn’t children. It is adults and older adults. Neither group finds an annoying animated character cute or instructive. They may find it condescending though.

-Your animated character runs like it was animated in 2005 flash. It loads slowly. The animation of it while loading is slow.

So you have a character that is at best, annoying, runs terribly slowly and the user is forced to deal with it at square 1, right out of the gate...and there appears to be no way around that - just when you should be putting your best foot forward.

I know I am just some guy on the internet, but I have worked on e-learning app design for the government, and you need to get an HCI person and run a focus group or two.

Focus on getting the app to work and save the kiddie interface for another app. There is a reason we no longer see the Microsoft Office little office assistant flying carpet mascot.