Big update: everything that's changed since I first shared this
When I first posted this it was a bare-bones alpha. Thanks to the feedback in this thread it's grown into something genuinely useful. Here's the rundown (now at v0.10.0).
Early-dose guard with one-tap undo (newest). If a dose gets marked given well before its scheduled time, you get a warning right then with two buttons: Undo (it was an accidental tap, so it unchecks the dose and puts the supply count back) or Keep it (you meant to give it early). It's there to catch a misfire before it turns into a missed or doubled dose. This grew out of the over-dose-guard idea @IOT7712 raised.
Supply & refill tracking. Track how much of each medication you have on hand. The count drops as doses are marked given, shows doses-left and an estimated run-out date, turns red at a per-medication reorder threshold you set once (so slow-to-deliver meds can trigger earlier), and sends a refill reminder. Idea from @Tadies; the reorder-threshold detail came from feedback here.
Glanceable status. A per-patient "needs attention" sensor (problem class): red when a dose is overdue, green when all is well. It trips on elapsed time alone and fails safe toward "problem," so it works as a wall-panel light or siren too. That whole direction came from @IOT7712.
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Scheduling. Each dose can now be daily or specific days (Mon/Wed/Fri), with 12h or 24h time display.
Cleaner dashboard. It auto-discovers every patient and dose (nothing to hand-edit), and the pill icons are blue so they don't compete with the red/green status from across the room. The today summary now splits pending doses into overdue and upcoming, the status banner tints red or green at a glance, and a refill soon line appears when a supply runs low. There's a per-patient schedule overview, and now two card files to pick from: the original single-column layout, plus a wide two-column one (a full-width status banner over two columns) sized to fill a 2-column Sections view section.
One-click automation blueprints. The companion automations (dose reminders, the mark-given confirmation, the low-supply alert, and the new early-dose warning) are now importable Home Assistant blueprints, so you add them from a button instead of pasting YAML. For anything custom there are also medication_reminder_dose_given and medication_reminder_dose_undone events to trigger off.
Plus the earlier additions: per-patient notify targets, UI reminder settings (reset time, nag window, re-nag interval), an "all doses given" sensor, patient types (person/dog/cat/...), and medications shown inline on each dose.
Still UI-driven, no YAML for schedules; entities auto-create per patient and state survives restarts.
A note on safety
Since this deals with medication, a few choices are deliberate:
- It fails safe, not silent. The "needs attention" status errs toward red: if a dose is overdue, or if it can't evaluate a dose for any reason, it flags a problem rather than showing a false "all OK." When in doubt, it tells you to look.
- It trips on time, not just taps. It re-checks every minute, so an overdue dose turns red on its own even if nobody opens the app. No stale "all clear."
- It double-checks an early tap. Mark a dose given well before its scheduled time and it warns you on the spot, with a one-tap undo that also restores the supply count, so an accidental tap doesn't quietly become a missed or doubled dose.
- It escalates a miss. Past the nag window a missed dose fires once as a high-priority, time-sensitive alert, and because it's a standard
problem sensor you can drive a physical light or siren off it so the alert is visible across the room.
- It survives restarts. What's been given today is remembered across Home Assistant restarts, so a reboot won't reset your tracking and risk a double or a missed dose.
- The tracking runs locally. The schedule, status, and red/green logic are entirely local with no cloud dependency; only the phone push needs a connection, like any HA notification.
- It won't let you run out quietly. Supply tracking flags low stock and reminds you to refill before a critical med runs out.
And, just as important, what it deliberately is not:
- It's a reminder aid, not a medical device. It can't detect that a dose was actually given, you tell it by tapping "Mark given." It warns on an early tap, but it doesn't enforce minimum gaps between doses or a maximum per day; it tracks, reminds, and nudges, it doesn't police.
- Treat it as a second set of eyes, not the only one. It's still alpha, so keep a backup method you trust, and confirm any dosing schedule with your doctor or vet.
Genuinely, thanks all! This feedback has really shaped the release into something more useful for everyone.
Name, given at 18:00", probably with the medication), so the line is about the give-time rather than a repeat of the schedule.