As-needed (PRN) medications
"As needed" (PRN) medications don't have scheduled reminders. They sit in a separate section on the Today view, ready when you need them.
What PRN means
"PRN" is the Latin abbreviation for pro re nata — "as the thing is needed". These are medications your prescriber wants you to take only when something happens: a headache, an asthma flare, breakthrough pain, anxiety symptoms.
Marking a medication as PRN
- Add or edit a medication.
- In the Schedule section, choose As needed (or turn on the PRN toggle).
- Optionally set a cooldown — a minimum time between doses (e.g. "no more than once every 4 hours").
- Save.
How PRN medications appear
They don't clutter the scheduled section of the Today view. Instead, they live in their own As needed section at the bottom of the screen. No reminder fires — it's up to you to decide when to take one.
Logging a PRN dose
When symptoms arise and you take the medication, tap Taken on its card. DoseAlert records the time, deducts from your inventory, and (if you set a cooldown) starts the countdown.
The cooldown timer
If you set a 4-hour cooldown, the card shows Next dose available at 2:30 PM for four hours after your last dose. The Taken button is dimmed during that time so you don't accidentally double-dose.
The cooldown is a safety aid, not a hard lock. In a genuine emergency where your prescriber has told you to repeat a dose sooner (e.g. a second dose of nitroglycerin for chest pain), you can still log it — tap the card, confirm the cooldown override, and record the dose.
PRN and reports
Every PRN dose you log shows up in the Pill Tracker calendar and in your PDF and CSV exports, with the exact time of day. This is useful for pain-management charts or asthma symptom tracking.
PRN as a caregiver alert
You can still pair a caregiver and receive alerts for PRN medications — for example, if a parent takes a rescue inhaler, a caregiver can be notified. See Missed-dose alerts.