Prescription scanning

Typing out every detail of a new medication is a pain. DoseAlert can read a pharmacy label and fill in the form for you — on-device, no upload.

What it can read

DoseAlert uses your phone's on-device text recognition to read:

• Medication name
• Dosage (mg, mcg, mL, units, g)
• Frequency (once daily, twice daily, every 4 hours, etc.)
• Quantity dispensed
• Number of refills

It understands common pharmacy shorthand: QD (daily), BID (twice a day), TID (three times), QID (four times), q4h (every 4 hours), PRN (as needed), and so on.

How to scan

1. Tap the + button to start adding a new medication.
2. At the top of the form, tap Scan prescription label.
3. Point the camera at the pharmacy label. Hold steady — a clear, well-lit photo works best.
4. Or tap the photos icon to pick an existing photo from your library.
5. DoseAlert processes the image on your device and fills in the form fields.
6. Review everything carefully. Correct anything the scanner got wrong.
7. Tap Save.

Tips for a good scan

• Good lighting. A bright, even light beats a dim corner every time.
• Flat label. Rotate the bottle so the part you want scanned faces the camera as flat as possible. DoseAlert can reassemble fragmented words on a curved label, but only within a single photo.
• No glare. Move the bottle to avoid reflections on a shiny label.
• Close but not too close. Fill the frame with the label, but keep the text in focus.

Privacy

The scan happens entirely on your device using Apple's or Google's on-device text recognition framework. The photo is never uploaded and is deleted immediately after the text is extracted. DoseAlert does not keep a copy. See Privacy and data for full details.

Always double-check

What the scanner can't do

• It doesn't read handwritten notes from your doctor.
• It can't verify whether a prescription is safe or correctly prescribed.
• It doesn't understand labels in languages other than English.

For anything it can't read, just type it in. Every field can still be edited.