Caregiver Help & Features: coordinate a loved one's care

How do I get started?

Setting up Caregiver takes about five minutes. You create one private household for the person you care for, then add their medicines, appointments and helpers.

How do I track medications and set up reminders?

Caregiver is, at heart, a medication tracker and reminder app for caregivers. Add a medicine with its name, dose (½, 1, 2 tablets, and so on) and schedule:

• Times of day — pick standard times (8:00, 12:00, 19:00…) or add any custom time.
• How often — every day, or only certain weekdays (e.g. Mon & Thu for a twice‑a‑week medicine).
• For how long — ongoing, or a set course (7 days, 1 month, or custom start and end dates).
• Special instructions — quick tags like with food, empty stomach, finish the course, plus free‑text notes.
• Several medicines at once — add a whole regimen in one go; each keeps its own schedule.

The Today screen then lists every dose due, in order, with a live countdown to when it's due — so nothing slips through, and an overdue dose is easy to spot. For a nudge even when the app is closed, turn on push reminders in Settings → Reminders — each device gets a notification when a dose is due or an appointment is coming up (on iPhone/iPad, install the app to the Home Screen first; iOS 16.4+).

How does Caregiver show who gave the last dose?

This is what sets Caregiver apart from an ordinary pill reminder. When a dose is given, whoever gave it taps “Log as given.” The dose immediately shows “Given · by [name] · [time].” Every family member sees it at once.

That single feature answers the question families ask most — “Did anyone give mom her 8 o'clock pill?” — and prevents the two most common home medication errors: a missed dose and an accidental double dose when two people each think the other didn't give it. Read more: how who-gave-the-dose logging works.

Can I use Caregiver for my own medications?

Yes — Caregiver doubles as a personal medication tracker. Create a household with yourself as the person cared for, add your medicines, and you get the same tools: your full schedule, live due-dose countdowns on the Today screen, one‑tap logging, and a complete history of what you took and when — handy to show your doctor.

Because it's still a household, you can invite your partner or an adult child at any point — so someone you trust can quietly keep an eye on things, or take over smoothly during an illness. Many people start by managing a parent's medicines and end up adding their own.

How do I coordinate care with my family?

A Caregiver household is a private care circle. Invite as many family members as your plan allows and everyone shares the same medications, tasks, appointments, check‑ins and notes in real time.

• Invite in seconds — share a join link by WhatsApp, Viber, text, email, or a 6‑character code.
• Everyone's contribution is attributed — every logged dose, completed task and note shows who did it.
• Tasks — add errands, chores and calls (“pick up prescription”, “call the pharmacy”), assign them, and tick them off.
• Multiple people, one patient — Caregiver is built for several caregivers looking after the same person, without stepping on each other.

Coordinating an aging parent's care with siblings? See the guides: coordinate care for elderly parents and how to organize care for an aging parent.

How do I keep track of doctor appointments?

Add each vet or doctor appointment with the clinic name, date, time, location and notes. The Calendar shows appointment days and active medication courses at a glance, and the next upcoming appointment is surfaced on the home screen so the whole family knows what's coming. After a visit, add follow‑up notes and mark it completed — a simple doctor appointment tracker for caregivers that everyone shares.

How do daily check‑ins work?

Once a day, any caregiver can record how the person is doing — “Okay today” or “Needs attention” — with an optional note. It's a lightweight way for a family spread across cities to know, at a glance, that today went fine (or that someone should call). This daily check‑in for family is especially valuable when you can't be there in person every day.

Where do I keep doctors' and emergency contacts?

The Doctors & contacts directory holds every important number — GP, specialists, the pharmacy, an emergency contact — with tap‑to‑call and tap‑to‑email. A “Who to call” card sits on the home screen, so in a stressful moment anyone in the family can reach the right person instantly.

How do I see everything at a glance?

The Today screen is your command centre: today's medications, open tasks, the next appointment, the daily check‑in and a shared activity feed of everything important that's happened — doses given, tasks completed, appointments added — each stamped with who and when. It's the caregiver's version of “what do I need to know right now?”

Is Caregiver free?

Yes — the core of Caregiver is free, with no per‑medication cap, which makes it a genuine free alternative to paid medication apps. Optional paid plans simply raise the limits for larger families or professional carers.

Does Caregiver work on my phone?

Yes — Caregiver works on any phone, tablet or computer, with no app‑store download. To install it like a native app:

• iPhone / iPad (Safari): tap Share → Add to Home Screen.
• Android (Chrome): tap the ⋮ menu → Install app / Add to Home screen.
• Computer (Chrome / Edge): click the install icon in the address bar.

It then opens full‑screen from your home screen and works like any other app.

Is my family's information private and secure?

Only members you invite to a household can ever see its information. Passwords are hashed, sessions are protected, and access is enforced on every request. Caregiver deliberately keeps minimal data — it's a coordination tool, not a medical record. It never diagnoses, never recommends dosages, and always points you back to your doctor or pharmacist.

Frequently asked questions

How do I keep track of who gave mom her medication?

Add each medication and tap “Log as given” when a dose is taken. It flips to “Given · by [name] · [time],” so the whole family instantly sees who gave the last dose — preventing missed and double doses.

Can multiple family members track the same person's medications?

Yes. Create a household, invite family with a link, and everyone shares the same schedule, dose log, appointments and check‑ins in real time, with every action attributed.

Can I use Caregiver for my own medications?

Yes — create a household with yourself as the person cared for: schedule, countdowns, one‑tap logging and full history, with the option to invite a partner later.

Is there a free app to coordinate care for an elderly parent?

Caregiver is free to track medications, log doses, share appointments and coordinate with family, with no per‑medication cap — designed exactly for coordinating an aging parent's care with siblings.

Can I share caregiver notes with my siblings?

Yes. The shared activity feed, daily check‑in notes and task descriptions are visible to everyone in the household, so distant siblings always know how things are going.

What happens if I forget to log a dose?

Overdue doses stay visible on the Today screen with a clear countdown, so any caregiver can still record them or see that a dose was missed.