ENTOD Pharmaceuticals has developed and introduced a new smart solution in the form of a mobile reminder application OpenRx Timer. It acts as a patient guide to enable the right management and usage of eye drugs. Using this free of cost mobile application will prevent patients from using expired eye drops that can put their eye health at risk.
Even though most containers of eye drops clearly mention that the drug should be used within 30 days after opening, we have observed that many patients fail to stick to this schedule. The feedback gained from patients and ophthalmologists told us that while most patients forget the date of opening and expiry, others do not take it very seriously. This poses a serious risk to eye health, said the company.
To address this concern, our smart application that serves to guide patients on the correct usage of these drugs. The OpenRx Timer is a simple yet smart and innovative mobile application that records the opening date of the eye medicine and reminds patients when to discard them,” explained Nikkhil K Masurkar, executive director, ENTOD Pharmaceuticals.
Using eye drops after the stipulated shelf life time can cause several ill-effects. Firstly, loss of efficacy of the drug can interfere with the treatment and result in ineffective treatment of vision-related problems. Secondly, using eye drugs past their expiry can also lead to other eye-related problems such as inflammation or irritation of the eyes.
“Over time, environmental exposure can cause degradation of the eye solution. The eye drops can become unstable with constant oxygen exposure. At the same time, gradual evaporation can lead to an imbalance of ingredients that may be harmful to the eyes. Through the app we not only want to help patients manage their eye treatment better but also raise awareness among patients about the possible ill-effects of using eye drops past their expiration,” he added .
Effectively, patients must discard any remaining solution in the bottle after the stipulated 4 week period and open a fresh bottle if treatment is intended to be continued by the doctor.
OpenRx Timer app is a simple and user-friendly app that can set reminders easily in a matter of seconds and with just a few clicks. Downloading the OpenRx Timer app on a smartphone enables receiving timely notifications of when to discard any opened eye medicines.
