Duplicate detection — keep your medicine kit tidy

You add a medicine to your kit and it turns out it is already on the list — just under a slightly different name, in a different dosage, or with a different barcode. Duplicates like these distort stock levels, complicate shopping plans, and can lead to dosing mistakes. The duplicate detection feature in mojApteczka recognises when you scan a medicine you already have and suggests a sensible solution instead of creating yet another entry.

Why are duplicates a problem?

In a home medicine kit, medicines arrive from many sources: a prescription, a pharmacy visit, a doctor's appointment, an online order. Every new package is a potential duplicate if that medicine was previously added to the system. The problem grows when:

several people add medicines to a shared kit — each person may scan the same package,
you buy the same medicine regularly and add it anew each time,
you have two packages of the same product with different expiry dates,
the manufacturer changed the packaging while the name and dosage stayed identical.

Without a duplicate detection mechanism, the kit quickly turns into a list of repeated entries. Stock levels lose meaning, expiry date alerts may fire twice, and the shopping list shows missing quantities for two versions of the same medicine.

How does duplicate detection work?

When you scan a medicine package using AI recognition, the system automatically compares the recognised product against the medicines already in your kit. The comparison happens on three levels:

Name matching

The system checks whether a medicine with the same trade name already exists in the kit. Even if the photo was taken at a different angle or the packaging shows minor differences, the algorithm recognises the same name.

Dosage and form matching

If the name matches, the system checks the dosage (e.g. 500 mg vs. 1000 mg) and the form (tablets vs. capsules). This distinguishes between buying exactly the same product and having a different variant of the same medicine.

EAN barcode matching

The barcode on the package is the most unambiguous identifier. If the EAN code of the new scan matches one already recorded in the kit, the system is certain it is the same product.

What happens when a duplicate is detected?

When the system recognises that you are scanning a medicine you already have, instead of immediately creating a new entry, it offers two options:

Restock — the new package is added to the existing entry. Stock goes up, the expiry date can be updated, but no duplicate is created. This is the right choice when you buy another box of the same product.
Add as new — a separate entry is created. This makes sense when you want to track packages with different expiry dates individually, or when the medicine differs in dosage or form despite a similar name.

The decision is yours. The system suggests a match but does not force an automatic merge — you have full control over how the kit is organised.

Why does this matter for kit order?

An orderly kit is not just about aesthetics. It directly affects:

stock accuracy — when the same medicine is not scattered across multiple entries, you know exactly how many doses you have,
shopping list effectiveness — the low stock feature relies on a single, up-to-date entry rather than several partial ones,
report clarity — the PDF report for the doctor is clearer when each medicine appears once,
expiry alerts — one medicine, one alert, no information noise.

A real-life scenario

You have Ibuprom 200 mg (tablets) in your kit — added a month ago, 12 units in stock. At the pharmacy, you buy another box of the same medicine. You scan it with the camera and the system says: "This medicine is already in your kit. Restock or add as new?"

You choose "Restock" — stock rises to 32 units. One medicine card, one reminder schedule, one threshold on the shopping list. Order restored.

Availability

The duplicate detection feature is currently available in the mobile app on Android. It works automatically during medicine scanning — no additional configuration is needed. Simply scan the package and the system checks whether the medicine already exists in your kit.

How it connects with other features

Duplicate detection works best together with other mojApteczka mechanisms:

AI recognition provides the scan data used by the system to look for matches,
Expiry date alerts work more precisely when each medicine has a single, current entry,
Shopping list correctly calculates missing quantities when stock is consolidated,
Shared family kit prevents two household members from adding the same medicine separately,
Notes let you add details about a specific package, e.g. "bought at the Market Square pharmacy".

Important limitation

Duplicate detection is an organisational tool that helps keep the medicine kit tidy. It simplifies stock management and reduces the risk of errors, but it does not replace a pharmacist's check or verification that a given product is suitable for a specific person.

Important: the system matches medicines based on name, dosage, form, and EAN code. If you are unsure whether two products are the same medicine, consult a pharmacist. Different trade names may contain the same active ingredient — in such cases it is worth checking medicine substitutes.

The duplicate detection feature in mojApteczka protects your kit from chaos. One medicine, one entry, one up-to-date stock level — no repetition, no guessing, no clutter.