How to track medication effectiveness in VillageMetrics
To track medication effectiveness in VillageMetrics, add your child's medications to their profile with start dates, then record daily voice journals about how things are going. The app automatically correlates your behavior observations with the medication timeline, so you can ask questions like "How has behavior changed since we started the new dose?" and get a real answer.
Here's how to set it up and use it.
Step 1: Add Medications to Your Child's Profile
Go to Settings → Child Profile → Medications and add each medication with:
Medication name (e.g., Risperidone, Guanfacine) — start typing and the app will suggest common medications
Dosing schedule — configure AM, midday, and/or PM doses separately (e.g., 0.5mg morning, 1mg evening)
Start date — when your child started this medication or dose
When you change a dose or stop a medication, update it in the app. You don't need to log that you gave meds each day—the app assumes the medication is active from the start date until you mark it as changed or stopped.
Why this matters: Every voice journal entry is automatically linked to whatever medications were active that day. When you ask about medication effectiveness later, the AI knows exactly what your child was taking during any time period.
Step 2: Record Daily Voice Journals
Each day (or as often as you can), record a voice note about how things went. Think through your day from morning to evening and mention:
How behavior was overall
Any notable incidents (meltdowns, aggression, great moments)
Anything that might be relevant (sleep, appetite, mood, activities)
Any potential side effects you're noticing
Example: "Today was better than yesterday. He woke up in a good mood, no issues getting ready for school. After school he had a short meltdown when I said no iPad, maybe 10 minutes, but he recovered. Appetite seemed low at dinner—he barely touched his food. Bedtime was smooth."
The more detail you include, the better the AI can identify patterns and correlations with medications.
Step 3: Ask Questions About Medication Effectiveness
Once you have a couple weeks of data, you can ask the AI questions like:
"How has behavior changed since we increased the Risperidone dose?"
"Compare behavior before and after starting Guanfacine"
"Are there any side effects patterns since the medication change?"
"How many meltdowns per week were we having before vs. after the new dose?"
The AI looks at your journal entries, correlates them with the medication timeline, and gives you a summary.
Step 4: Prepare for Doctor Appointments
Before your psychiatrist or pediatrician appointment, ask:
"Summarize the last 30 days"
"What should I tell the doctor about how the medication is working?"
"Have there been any concerning patterns since the dose change?"
You'll get a summary you can read directly to your doctor or show them on your phone. No more trying to remember how the month went.
What VillageMetrics Tracks Automatically
When you add medications and record journals, the app automatically:
Links entries to active medications — Every journal knows what meds were in play
Scores behavior goals — Each day gets scored on default goals like "Maintain Safety" and "Stay Calm During Challenges"
Tags relevant concepts — Mentions of aggression, sleep issues, appetite changes, etc. are tagged
Tracks over time — You can see trends across weeks and months
You don't have to remember to track side effects separately or create special entries for medication changes. Just talk about your day; the AI extracts what's relevant.
Tips for Better Medication Tracking
Be specific about timing. "He was drowsy in the morning but fine by afternoon" is more useful than "he seemed tired."
Mention side effects even if you're not sure. "His appetite has been low—not sure if it's the medication or something else" still gets captured and can be analyzed later.
Note when things are going well. It's easy to journal only on bad days. Recording "today was actually really good, no major issues" helps show what improvement looks like.
Update medications promptly. If you change a dose on Tuesday, update it in the app on Tuesday. The correlation only works if the medication timeline is accurate.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I notice side effects—should I mention them in my journals?
Yes—always mention anything you notice, even if you're not sure it's medication-related. "He seemed drowsy today," "appetite was low," "more irritable in the evenings." The AI tracks these mentions, and patterns may emerge that help your psychiatrist adjust timing or dosage.
Should I record on days when nothing unusual happens?
Yes—"normal" days are data too. If you only journal on bad days, your history will look worse than reality. Recording "today was actually pretty good, no major issues" helps show what improvement looks like and provides baseline data for comparison.
Can I track multiple medications at once?
Yes. Add each medication separately with its own start date and dosing schedule. The AI analyzes each unique "medication cocktail" (the full combination of medications and doses) as a separate period, so you can compare how behavior changed across different combinations.
Ready to stop flying blind? VillageMetrics turns your daily voice notes into the data doctors need to help your child.