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I help manage my parent’s care from afar. We were doing well with blister packs but have discovered that they often confuse days or even times. Looking at automated medication dispensers with alarms and drops medications automatically. Father is visually impaired but the most functioning in home. Mother has declining memory.

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Hi--Usually at this point, where there's confusion around time, the person's cognitive impairment has reached a point where external cues get ignored. It may be time for a move to assisted living or at least have an aide in to help them manage meds. You need a reliable way to ensure the pill gets into their mouth, not just dispensed. You might be able to set up something with video like an Echo 'Show' with a dispenser, but these short term solutions don't work very well.
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Reply to ElizabethY
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At this point, I suspect that these two will still confuse days and times even if they have a medication dispenser. They may not heed the alarms or know what they are for. The meds can drop right in front of them, and they will have no clue what they are. You could call and ask if they've taken their meds, and they may say they have but haven't. Believe me, this happens. I'm a veteran of caring for both parents, another relative, and my husband.

Please consider assisted living and/or memory care for them. When a patient no longer can manage meds, doctors will recommend that they move to a facility where meds are overseen as part of their care. This is so important because once confusion sets in, patients are in danger of overdosing or underdosing or not dosing at all. All three circumstances can unalive or seriously injure them, and you don't want that!

The only other thing that could help is hiring someone to come to their house and administer the meds, but if they take meds morning, noon, evening and bedtime, that's four visits. You're not likely to find someone reliable enough to do that. I'm mentioning this only because my sister-in-law, an RN, was hired to do this for a neighbor. She wasn't paid very well, and it tied her down because there was no backup if she wanted to be away for a while. She had to stop when she got dementia herself!

I wish you luck with dealing with this.
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Reply to Fawnby
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My experience has been that a person with dementia can't really process what the alarm is for, or even which electronic thing in the house the beeping is coming from.
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Reply to Slartibartfast
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If they can't manage blister packs, they won't handle any other aid that they need to operate or understand.
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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My in-law POA recently spent about $300 on a fancy medication system/dispenser with timer and alarm to get my in-laws with dementia on track with taking meds on time. Sorry, I don’t know the name of it. It was returned within weeks as they couldn’t process what it was for or how to understand what it was expecting them to do. I hope you find something that will help in your situation
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Reply to Daughterof1930
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Phillips used to have a 10 day dispenser but someone must be able to fill it. I saw it demonstrated years ago when I worked for a VNA. Pills are put in little plastic containers. Times are set and at that time a voice says "time for your meds" and you push the button and out come the pills. The system can be locked so there is no playing with the meds. If tge button is not pushed a call is made to the contact person. This system has probably been upgraded since I worked.
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