I have talked often about the need to engage in estate planning in our former blog posts. And while it is important to focus on making sure your family and assets are protected; I don’t want to overlook the day-to-day tasks that we are often faced with. If you use an iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad, you’ll enjoy these ten great apps that will help you be a more effective caregiver.

Medical Minders

Keeping up with medical information can seem overwhelming. Here are a few apps that will help guide you along the way.

CareConnector – Free

CareConnector is a free iPhone application designed for caregivers on the go. You can use CareConnector to

• Store important information about your loved one’s medical information and doctors.
• Enter multiple profiles for all those you care for (even yourself!).
• Use the message boards to talk with other caregivers about your experiences and share your stories.
• Watch excerpts of inspiring videos and learn of inspiring stories about caring for a loved one.
• Keep track of medications and treatment plans.
• Use the Care Planner to track prescriptions by checking the box once the prescription has been taken.
• Use the journal to write notes during doctor appointments, prepare questions for upcoming arrangements, take notes and store photos about your care giving experience.
• iPhone: FREE

Medicine Cabinet – $0.99 (iPhone) or $2.99 (iPad)

Medicine Cabinet is a friendly and intuitive app that allows you to easily keep a list of medications being taken by you, your family and loved ones (or even your pets!). It’s available for the iPhone ($0.99) and iPad ($2.99). With this app, you can

• Easily share information (for an individual or everyone) via email export.
• Track the time of the last and next dose of a medication.
• Keep notes for each person’s medication.
• Customize each person’s page.

RXmind Me – Free (Lite Version) or $3.99 (Full Version)

RXmindMe, the first iPhone app available for prescription reminders is  free to download and try. You can unlock the full version for $3.99. This handy app will keep track of your medications and send you convenient reminder alerts utilizing Apple’s Push Notification System. If you use this app, you can

• Keep a detailed history of your prescription reminders.
• Be confident your privacy is protected as not prescription information is transmitted.
• Choose from five different types of reminders.
• Link all your prescriptions to reminders.
• Snooze an alert and receive another alert in the future.

Elder 411 – $1.99

Elder411 was created by Marion Somers, Ph.D. has used her 35+ years of experience as an award-winning, nationally recognized geriatric care manager to create an app that proved expert advice on 11 key topics such as communication, safety, lifestyle, mobility, and letting go to name a few. You’ll have information at your fingertips in the form of written, audio, and audio tips as well as answers to hundreds of real questions posed by other caregivers.

Capturing the Moment

You can capture special moments and record cherished memories of loved ones with these apps.

Chronicle – $1.99

Chronicle is one of many apps that allow you to keep a journal or record important notes on your iPhone, iTouch, or iPad. This is great to record your loved one’s stories and/or keep track of important information. Not only can you enable a passcode for privacy, you can

• Write wherever you are.
• Add a picture from your photo library.
• Annotate a day with a smiley face, frown, star, or one of many other icons.
• Enjoy a fast and easy search feature.
• Upload your diary to Google Docs.

QuickVoice Recorder – Free

nFinity Inc.’s QuickVoice Recorder app allows you to record ideas, make lists and notes by simply speaking. Easy to use controls allow you to start and stop the recording with the tap of a finger. This is the perfect app to capture precious stories  and reminiscences of your loved ones in their own voices. You can then email a file of up to 5MB. nFinity Inc. also offers QuickVoice2Text that transcribes your voice file for you.

PhotoNote – $1.99

Want to share a special moment or accomplishment with a loved one. PhotoNote allows you create notes for all your photos on your device and easily email them to others. Additional settings allow you to

• Save your photos to the photo library.
• Start PhotoNotes with the camera.
• Password protect your notes.

Enjoying Time Together

Betty Crocker Cookbook – Free

Need ideas for recipes? Ask the expert. This free app puts more than 9000 tried-and-true recipes at your fingertips. This app features

• Recipe search
• Ingredient search
• Instructions with photos
• Email capabilities
• Favorites tagging
• Coupons

Pandora, Radio – Free

Don’t have your loved one’s music library when you need it most? With the Pandora Radio app, you can create your own personal streaming radio show with the genres and artists you like from the comfort of your iPhone. This can be particularly soothing when traveling or during hospital stays.

iBooks, Kindle, or Barnes and Noble E-Reader – All Free

All three are easy-to-use e-readers that can download over 10,000 different books to take with you anywhere. They can help you pass the time while spending time in waiting rooms. You can download your favorite titles in just moments. Download your loved one’s favorite books and they can enjoy their favorite books in one of their favorite voices: yours!

The information contained in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Nothing in this blog should be deemed to create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between any readers and this firm. An attorney-client relationship is created only when this firm agrees to represent someone and a written employment agreement or engagement letter is signed by both the client and attorney. In all cases, the reader should consult his or her own attorney for advice. The information in this blog is based on Texas law.