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Automated Medication Dispensing Service Support

Medication Dispenser

Looking for help with your Lifeline Automated Medication Dispensing Service? Here you’ll find instructions and resources for setup, operation, troubleshooting, and more.

Troubleshooting Tips to Keep in Mind

  • Place the Lifeline Medication Dispenser on a hard flat surface in an indoor space.
  • Do not place the dispenser on a heated surface like a radiator, in or near water.
  • Do not connect the Dispenser to an outlet that is controlled by a light switch.
  • The Dispenser requires a phone line for proper operation and make sure there is no 1-800 number block on your phone line. You can check with your phone company.
  • Clear voice messages daily.
  • Do not spray cleaners directly on the dispenser, moisture could get in the dispenser and cause damage.
  • Accuracy is highly important, double-check each dispensing cup prior to loading the dispenser. Do not use dispensing cups that have been damaged, cracked, or crushed.
  • Carefully follow the loading instructions announced and displayed on the dispenser to avoid errors.
  • Check the expiration date of medication, do not load medications that are expiring within 40 days. Never load lifesaving medications like nitroglycerin.

Organizing Medications

  • Gather all the medications and medication reminders in one place. Make sure you talk to your doctors and providers to ensure your refills occur on the same 30-day cycle.
  • Once you have all the medications and have decided on a reminder schedule, decide how many days you want to load.
  • Keep in mind the frequency that the person who fills the dispenser will visit your home to reload medications, and doctors’ visits where medication changes are likely to occur.
  • Most people load 7 to 10 days of medications.
  • The Lifeline Medication Dispenser can load up to 40 days of medications depending on how many doses are needed per day. The below chart shows the maximum number of days that can be loaded, based on doses per day.
Medication Doses per Day Maximum # of Days That Can be Loaded
1 40
2 30
3 20
4 10
5 10
6 10

What are Doses

  • The Lifeline Medication Dispenser holds up to 60 medication dose cups, up to 6 doses per day.
  • Each dose cup can hold between 1 to 20 or more pills in different combinations.
  • Talk to your pharmacist about where, when, and in what combination you should take pills.
  • Once you know how many days there are to load, ensure that you have all the cups and medications you need.
  • A loading tray is provided to help you organize loading the dispenser. The tray can organize 7 days of medications of up to 6 doses per day, allowing you to set up each day to be unique if needed with a flexible combination of medications. For example, if you need three doses Monday through Friday of a certain medication combination and four on Saturday and Sunday with additional meds added.

To Use the Tray

  • Write the time for the doses in the area that says time, it is recommended that you use a pencil or non-permanent writing tool.
  • Place empty cups into the tray based on the medication dispense schedule. You do not have to fill the whole tray. If you have less than 6 doses per day, you will have empty cup spots.
  • The Loading tray is designed to organize 7 days of medications at one time. If you are loading more than 7 days’ worth of doses, repeat this process after loading the dispenser.
  • Only use the Solo Cups provided by Lifeline. Other cups can jam the machine.
  • When loading the dispenser for the first time, or after resetting it, remember that you will not load doses that have already been taken. For example, if doses are dispensed at 10am and 5pm every day, and you are loading it for the first time at 1pm, you will only load the one 5pm dose. Do not include the 10am dose in the tray.

Loading Medication

  • The dispenser is designed to only be used with pill and capsule form medication. Never place liquid medications or drops in the dispenser cups. You can set a dose with a customizable message on the dispenser, that does not dispense a cup, as a reminder to administer other forms of medication like liquids or patches at specified times.
  • You can call a Customer Support Specialist at 888-632-3261 for assistance setting up customizable reminder messages.
  • Load the cups with medication as indicated by your schedule. Once all the medication has been sorted, attach the lid to the cups securely.
  • Write the day and time of dose on the lid of the cup to assist with organization.
  • Do not overload cups If all medications do not fit in the cup. Please call a Customer Support Specialist at 888-632-3261 for help.
  • Ensure that there are no double lids or double cups, as that will jam the dispenser.

Loading

  • Always load a complete day.
  • Turn the key clockwise to open the medication door, and press the load key.
  • As the cylinders rotate, a message will show on the display “Medicine cups in motion please wait”.
  • It can take up to two minutes for the Lifeline Medication Dispenser to go through the cylinder cycle. Once the cylinders stop, the dispenser will announce the number of cups to load, and the display will show the number of cups to load along with the date of the doses you are loading.
  • Load cups in the order they are taken: the first dose of the day is put in first. Always load a complete day of medication, or you may miss loading the additional medications.
  • Press the OK button once to confirm doses were loaded. The display will read “Continue Loading Medications?” and will continue blinking. If you would like to continue loading press the OK button again. Once you have loaded all the medication cups, press the right arrow on the keypad, and “Quit” will begin blinking on the display, then press the OK button. If you accidentally hit Ok to continue simply press the run button to cancel out that day. The rest of the loaded medications will not be affected.
  • There are 10 cylinders in the dispenser. If you are loading more than 10 doses, you will place doses for the date on the display on top of cups already loaded.
  • Only load one day of doses at a time!
  • Once the dispenser is loaded it will begin normal operation. The display will show the time until the next dose, the current date, System OK, and the time. If at any time you do not see a similar display, simply press the run key.

Changing/Adding/Removing Medication

  • Sometimes you may have to change the medications loaded into the Lifeline Medication Dispenser. If you are not changing the number of doses, you can use the review feature.
  • Start by opening the medication access door with the key, next press the Load button. The display will show “Select loading mode” with Load blinking. Press the right arrow so that Review is blinking and press the OK button.
  • The display will show “Medicine cups in motion please wait”. Once the cylinders are in place the medication cups will become visible. The display will show the number of dose cups, the date, the cup numbers, and the choice to continue or quit with continue blinking.
  • Remove medicine cups from the dispenser. If you have labeled the lids this will make this much easier to track. Simply remove the lid, make changes to the medication, and replace the lid securely. Once the changes have been made, reload the medication cups into the dispenser placing the first dose of the day first.
  • To change the number of doses per day, or to change the times the doses are dispensed please call a Customer Support Specialist at 888-632-3261.

Depleted Battery

  • If the battery is depleted turn off the Lifeline Medication Dispenser using the toggle switch, located at the back of the unit right next to where the electrical cord comes out of the unit.
  • Ensure the electrical cord is plugged in properly and there is the power to the electrical outlet the dispenser is plugged into.
  • Next, turn the unit back on. If the message clears on the display, you will need to re-schedule and reload the dispenser. If the unit does not turn on, or the error message persists, please call a Customer Support Specialist at 888-632-3261.

Lost Medication Schedule

  • If the dispenser schedule is lost for any reason call a Customer Support Specialist at 888-632-3261.
  • If it is after hours, you can manually download the Lifeline Medication Dispenser through the phone line, but you must first reset and empty the dispenser.
  • To reset and empty the dispenser you will first need to turn the unit off using the toggle switch in the back of the unit, located next to where the electrical cord comes out of the unit.
  • Next, you will manually spin the cylinders by hand and remove dose cups in order. You may use the tray to keep medications organized.
  • Once the unit is empty turn it back on and it will complete a self-test. The display should state “Self-test underway please wait”. When it is done, the unit will say, “Ready for setup system okay”.
  • To download the medication schedule, you will need to ensure there is a working phone line. Securely plug the phone cord into the back of the dispenser in either outlet and then into the source of your phone service.
  • If you have VOIP you will need to plug the dispenser directly into your phone modem. If you have to unplug your phone to complete the previous step, use the auxiliary phone port in the back of the dispenser to reconnect your phone and check for a dial tone.
  • Next, press schedule key, then press OK to dial a Customer Support Specialist. Press OK again to reach an outside line directly and download the medication schedule.
  • If you need to enter a prefix press the right arrow, and then use the up and down arrows to select the number you need to dial to reach an outside line, then press the OK button. You should hear the dial tone, then you should hear a fax sound.
  • If the download was successful the unit will say, “Unit empty, ready to load”, along with the current time and date. If the download failed press the OK button, then press the schedule button, and then the OK button once more.

Display Messages

  • System OK blinking – if “System OK” is blinking on the display, it means there has been a missed dose. The Lifeline Medication Dispenser will stop dispensing after four doses have been missed. To clear doses, open the medication access door, and remove the cups from the hold bin. Next press the status button. The unit will display information about the dose that was missed including time and date, press the OK button to review the dose, then press the run button to resume normal operations.
  • Time is blinking on display – the time needs to be set on the dispenser. Press the setup key and follow prompts to program the time and date.
  • Support Center Does Not Answer – no dial tone or a stutter dial tone. Ensure the phone cord is plugged in securely and there are no phones off the hook. Clear any voicemail messages to get rid of the stutter dial tone.