Glossary
A reference of every term in the app, defined in plain language.
A–E
Active hours / active window
A time band during which a medication's reminders are allowed to fire — for example, 8 AM to 10 PM. Doses that fall outside the window push to the next opening. Used with every-X-hours schedules.
Adherence
How well you stick to your medication schedule — the percentage of scheduled doses you actually took.
Adherence ring
The circular progress indicator at the top of the Today view. Fills in as you log doses.
Alarm
The loudest reminder style. Keeps ringing, wakes the screen, and stays on the screen until you tap. Used for critical medications.
App lock
Optional setting that requires Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode before DoseAlert will show your medications. See App lock and privacy.
Caregiver
A paired family member who can receive alerts when a dose is missed. See Caregiver pairing.
Cooldown
For PRN (as-needed) medications, a minimum time between doses. Prevents you from taking doses too close together.
Critical priority
A priority level for medications you absolutely must not miss — heart, seizure, asthma, insulin. Reminders use the alarm channel and bypass quiet hours.
Course end date
Optional date after which DoseAlert stops firing reminders for a medication. Useful for antibiotics and other short courses.
Cycle schedule
A schedule with active days followed by rest days, like 21 days on, 7 days off. Common for birth control. See Cycle schedules.
Dose amount
How much you take at each scheduled time — 2 tablets, 10 mg, 5 mL, etc.
Dose log
A record of a single dose: medication, scheduled time, actual time taken, status (Taken, Skipped, Not sure).
Escalation chain
The sequence of reminders DoseAlert fires if you don't respond to the first one. Up to four levels per medication, each with its own delay and sound style. See Reminders.
F–L
Family profile
A separate set of medications, reminders, and history for another person (a parent, child, or partner) on the same phone.
Firebase
Google's messaging service that DoseAlert uses to deliver caregiver push alerts. Only alert data is sent — no medication history.
Fixed interval
A style of every-X-hours schedule where the dose times stay anchored to the clock. If you take your 8 AM dose late, the next dose still fires at its normal time.
Floating interval
A style of every-X-hours schedule where the next dose time shifts based on when you actually took the last one.
Fixed times
The most common schedule — you pick specific times of day, and each becomes a dose slot.
Group
A bundle of medications taken at the same time. Fires one reminder instead of many. See Groups.
Inventory
The count of pills, patches, puffs, or millilitres you have left of a medication. Can be tracked or left blank.
Log
A recorded event — either a dose log (you took, skipped, or were unsure about a dose) or a reminder log (a notification fired).
M–R
Missed dose
A scheduled dose that wasn't Taken, Skipped, or marked Not sure by the end of the reminder chain. Shows up in red in the Pill Tracker.
Not sure
A button on every reminder and medication card. Use it when you honestly can't remember whether you took a dose. Logs the dose as uncertain, cancels follow-up reminders, doesn't deduct inventory.
Notification channel
Android's system for grouping different notification types (quiet, vibrate, sound, alarm, caregiver). DoseAlert creates one channel per reminder style so you can control each separately in Android settings.
Pairing
The process of linking two phones so caregiver alerts can flow between them. Involves a 6-digit code.
Per-time dose
A different dose amount at each scheduled time — e.g. 2 tablets in the morning, 1 at bedtime. See Different doses at different times.
Pill tracker
The calendar tab showing a month-by-month history of your medication adherence.
Priority
How important a medication is to take on time. Three levels: Low, Normal, Critical.
PRN (as needed)
Latin shorthand for "as the situation requires". Medications taken only when symptoms arise, not on a schedule.
Quiet hours
A time window during which non-critical reminders are silenced (still shown, but no sound or vibration). See Quiet hours.
Refill reminder
A one-shot notification that fires when your inventory drops below the threshold you set. Prompts you to pick up a new bottle.
Remind Later
The sheet that appears when you tap the Later button on a reminder. Lets you defer the reminder by 15, 30, or 60 minutes, or a custom time.
S–Z
Schedule
The rule that determines when a medication's reminders fire. Eight types in DoseAlert. See Schedule types.
Skip
A button on every reminder. Records the dose as deliberately skipped. Counts against your adherence but doesn't deduct inventory.
Slot
A single scheduled dose time. A medication taken three times a day has three slots per day.
Specific days
A schedule that fires only on the days of the week you pick (e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
Start date
The date a medication begins. Reminders don't fire before this date.
Taken
The primary action button on reminders and medication cards. Records the dose as taken, deducts inventory, and cancels follow-up reminders.
Taper
A schedule with decreasing doses over time, in steps. See Taper schedules.
TestFlight
Apple's beta-testing service. If you're a beta tester, you'll install DoseAlert via TestFlight instead of the App Store. Functionality is identical.
Trial
The 7-day period when you first install DoseAlert during which all features are free to try.