In Brazil, the package inserts of medicines are highly regulated and any changes must be approved by a national council, which can take years. Icons for Medicines is a fast and secure way to ensure that access to information in the package inserts is clearer and more accurate.

51% of Brazilians claim not to read the package insert, written in complex scientific language. The result? Medications are the leading cause of intoxication in the country. Having access to a tool that makes this information clearer can prevent accidents and save lives.

Intoxication by medicines has become a public health problem. HCOR, a worldwide reference hospital with more than 100 years of history, receives on a daily basis many patients, victims of intoxication due to misuse of medicines. It was time to take action to change that reality. Introducing Icons for Medicines: an app that uses augmented reality turning key information from package inserts into simple, universal, and quick-reading icons. Then crossing this information with each user's profile to provide a customized recommendation.

Having key information about the proper use of some medications should be easy and accessible to everyone, avoiding accidents that can be fatal. And that's exactly what Icons for Medicine is all about. The patient just needs to fill in some personal information and point their camera’s phone at the box of the medicine. Using augmented reality, the packaging goes through a redesign, which shows the main information about that drug through a universal language that anyone can understand: icons. Each user gets a different set of icons according to their age, weight, gender, previous surgeries, etc. And if the medicine is not recommended for the patient, they will receive an alert message, warning about the dangers of that medication to them. A complete dictionary of icons has been created, making the patient better informed about their medication. Simple, low cost and universal.

After much research, we came up with a list of the crucial information that could avoid intoxications due to misuse of medications, with instructions like indications, contraindications, how to use the medication and time of treatment. Then, we translated each orientation of the package insert into a visual icon that represents it as simply as possible. So, we created an entire alphabet of new icons. The icons with the recommendations for the correct use of the medicine were crossed with the medical data provided by the patient. The result is a simple system to translate complex package inserts into a universal language through augmented reality. Despite the complexity of the cross-data, Icons for Medicine is extremely easy to use. Just point the camera from the phone at the medicine box to get personalized and safe information on how to use it.

Icons for Medicines has given a new perspective to the safety of doctors and patients regarding the knowledge of package inserts. The app was released exclusively for HCOR patients and its download was included in the hospital admission protocol to ensure the correct use of post-discharge medication. So, the hospital can take care of its patients even after they leave. An important platform not only for the general public, but also for foreigners who don’t speak Portuguese, illiterate people and people with reading difficulties. In a simple way, now patients can have personalized, accurate, and visually available information about the medications that are taken. In a few weeks, Icons for Medicines will be available in the App Store and Google Play, making the act of taking medicine safer in a country with 220 million cell phones.

Icons for Medicines has given a new perspective to the safety of doctors and patients regarding the knowledge of package inserts. The app was released exclusively for HCOR patients and its download was included in the hospital admission protocol to ensure the correct use of post-discharge medication. So, the hospital can take care of its patients even after they leave. An important platform not only for the general public, but also for foreigners who don’t speak Portuguese, illiterate people and people with reading difficulties. In a simple way, now patients can have personalized, accurate, and visually available information about the medications that are taken. In a few weeks, Icons for Medicines will be available in the App Store and Google Play, making the act of taking medicine safer in a country with 220 million cell phones. Besides this, through its universal language, Icons for Medicines has the potential to expand