Pill-Pal

Inspiration

Our inspiration for this project came from one of our grandmother's recent hospitalizations due to medical non-adherence, which we learned affects up to 50% of patients and can have serious consequences as stated by the WHO and the NIH. This realization motivated us to create Pill-Pal, an app that provides regular medication reminders and additional information to help users better understand their prescriptions. While this version is a prototype, we prioritized a user-friendly interface and incorporated a notification reminder using the Tkinter library of Python.

What it does

Pill-pal is an app that gives the user regular notifications to take their medications. Users can enter the type of medication they need to take after they make their account, and how frequently they need to take it. We also provide additional information on each prescription which can help the user understand it better. This version is a prototype of what the actual app will look like, since for this hack-a-thon, we prioritized UI over functionality.

How we built it

Our team decided to prioritize UI over functionality when building the app. After finding Figma, we decided to use it for our app prototype. However, we still wanted to include some backend functionality, so we opted to use the Tkinter library of Python to create the notification reminder feature.

Challenges we ran into

We encountered several challenges while working on Pill-Pal. One of the main difficulties was organizing the Figma pages, deciding which pages we needed to build and how to ensure they all worked together seamlessly. Additionally, we faced a learning curve with the various features of the Tkinter library we wanted to use. We tried to learn too many features, which left us with limited time to apply them effectively. Debugging Tkinter errors also proved to be a challenge, and we often had to refer back to our tutorial video for assistance. Finally, coordinating ourselves in Zoom to record the video was challenging, and we had to take several takes for each clip to ensure the final product was of good quality.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of several accomplishments that we achieved during this project. Firstly, we were able to develop a working prototype of the app within the given time constraints. Additionally, we created an intuitive and user-friendly interface that caters to the needs of our target audience. We are especially proud of the medication tracking and refill reminder features that we incorporated into the app. Moreover, we were able to learn and utilize Figma and Tkinter efficiently within the given timeframe. Finally, as high schoolers, this being our first hackathon, we felt a great sense of accomplishment after finishing the project. We were thrilled to have worked together as a team and to have transformed our idea into a reality.

What we learned

While watching a Figma tutorial, we learned how to effectively use the tool to create our own app prototype. As our team had varying levels of experience with Python, we conducted research and found the modern Tkinter library. We then watched a tutorial video to learn how to use and implement Tkinter. The library's user-friendliness and adaptability convinced us to use it for the backend of our project. Besides mastering Figma and Tkinter, we also gained important experience in teamwork, project management, and problem-solving. Overall, we learned that with dedication, hard work, and collaboration, we can achieve great things even in a short period, and ultimately, this is all what Hackathons are about.

What's next for Pill-Pal

In the future, Pill-Pal will focus on improving the functionality of the app, as well as refining the user interface. This could involve adding features like refill reminders, caregiver or family member connections, and more comprehensive medication information and potential side effects. We may also explore additional technologies such as voice recognition or machine learning to enhance the app's usability and effectiveness. Furthermore, we could conduct user testing and collect feedback to ensure that the app meets the needs of its target audience.

Built With

• figma
• python
• tkinter