ComCare — ADRD Caregiver Assistant

ComCare is a personal web app that helps caregivers of people with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) track observations, prepare for doctor visits, and get AI-powered support — all privately on their own computer.

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What You'll Need

Before installing ComCare, you need two free programs on your computer:

1. Python 3.10 or newer — the programming language ComCare runs on
2. Ollama — runs the AI privately on your own machine (no data sent to the cloud)

Both are free and safe to install. Instructions below.

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Step 1 — Install Python

Mac

1. Open your browser and go to https://www.python.org/downloads/
2. Click the big yellow "Download Python 3.x.x" button
3. Open the downloaded file and follow the installer (click Continue → Agree → Install)
4. When it finishes, open the Terminal app (search "Terminal" in Spotlight with ⌘ Space)
5. Type python3 --version and press Enter — you should see something like Python 3.12.3

Windows

1. Go to https://www.python.org/downloads/
2. Click "Download Python 3.x.x"
3. Open the installer — important: check the box that says "Add Python to PATH" before clicking Install
4. Click Install Now and wait for it to finish
5. Open the Command Prompt (search "cmd" in the Start menu)
6. Type python --version and press Enter — you should see Python 3.x.x

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Step 2 — Install Ollama (the AI engine)

Ollama runs a powerful AI model privately on your computer. Nothing leaves your machine.

1. Go to https://ollama.com/download

2. Click the download button for your system (Mac or Windows)

3. Open the downloaded file and install it (drag to Applications on Mac, or run the installer on Windows)

4. Once installed, open Terminal (Mac) or Command Prompt (Windows)

5. Type the following and press Enter — this downloads the AI model (about 5 GB, takes a few minutes):

   ollama pull llama3.1
   

6. When it finishes, type:

   ollama serve
   

   You should see a message like Listening on 127.0.0.1:11434. Leave this window open — Ollama needs to stay running.

Tip: On Mac, Ollama also adds a small icon to your menu bar. If you see it there, Ollama is already running and you can skip the ollama serve step.

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Step 3 — Download ComCare

Option A — If you received a zip file

1. Unzip the file (double-click on Mac, or right-click → Extract All on Windows)
2. You'll get a folder called ComCare — move it somewhere easy to find, like your Desktop or Documents

Option B — From GitHub

1. Go to the ComCare GitHub page
2. Click the green "Code" button → "Download ZIP"
3. Unzip and move the ComCare folder to your Desktop or Documents

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Step 4 — Install ComCare's Dependencies

ComCare needs a few small Python libraries. This is a one-time step.

Mac

1. Open Terminal

2. Type cd (with a space after it), then drag the ComCare folder into the Terminal window — the path fills in automatically. Press Enter.

3. Type this and press Enter:

   pip3 install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Wait for it to finish. You'll see packages being downloaded and installed.

Windows

1. Open Command Prompt

2. Type cd (with a space), then type the path to your ComCare folder. For example:

   cd C:\Users\YourName\Desktop\ComCare
   

3. Press Enter, then type:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   

4. Press Enter and wait for it to finish.

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Step 5 — Run ComCare

Every time you want to use ComCare, do the following:

Mac

1. Make sure Ollama is running (check menu bar, or run ollama serve in a Terminal)

2. Open a new Terminal window

3. Navigate to the ComCare folder (same cd step as above)

4. Type this and press Enter:

   uvicorn app:app --reload
   

5. You'll see output ending in something like Application startup complete.

6. Open your browser and go to: http://localhost:8000

Windows

1. Make sure Ollama is running (you can check the system tray, or run ollama serve in a separate Command Prompt window)

2. Open a new Command Prompt

3. Navigate to the ComCare folder

4. Type this and press Enter:

   uvicorn app:app --reload
   

5. Open your browser and go to: http://localhost:8000

To stop ComCare: Click in the Terminal/Command Prompt window and press Ctrl + C

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First-Time Setup Inside the App

When ComCare opens in your browser:

1. Click Settings (gear icon at the bottom of the left sidebar)
2. Fill in your patient's profile:
   • Name, age, and diagnosis
   • Primary physician's name
   • Next visit date
3. Under AI Backend, make sure Ollama (Local) is selected
4. Set the model name to: llama3.1:latest
5. Click Save Settings

That's it — ComCare is ready to use!

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Using the App (Quick Guide)

Page	What it does
AI Chat	Talk naturally about what you're observing. ComCare listens, asks follow-up questions, and suggests saving records. After a conversation, click Summarize our chat to get a structured recap.
Home Dashboard	See recent records, upcoming visit date, and quick stats.
Enter a Record	Manually log an observation using one of 6 structured record types.
Visit Summary	Choose a specialty (e.g. Neurology), describe the visit purpose, and generate a polished summary letter for your care team. The output is editable — you can revise it before printing or copying.
Settings	Update patient profile and AI backend.

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Install on iPhone as an App (Optional)

You can add ComCare to your iPhone home screen so it opens like a real app (full screen, no browser bar).

Requirements: ComCare must be running on a computer connected to the same Wi-Fi as your iPhone.

1. Find your computer's local IP address:

   • Mac: System Settings → Wi-Fi → click your network → look for the IP (e.g. 192.168.1.42)
   • Windows: Open Command Prompt, type ipconfig, look for "IPv4 Address"

2. Start ComCare with this command instead (replace 0.0.0.0 to allow network access):

   uvicorn app:app --host 0.0.0.0 --reload
   

3. On your iPhone, open Safari and go to: http://192.168.1.42:8000 (use your computer's IP)

4. Tap the Share button (box with arrow pointing up) → Add to Home Screen → Add

5. ComCare now appears on your home screen and opens full-screen.

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Troubleshooting

"command not found: python3" or "pip3" → Python wasn't installed correctly. Repeat Step 1, making sure to check "Add Python to PATH" on Windows.

"Cannot reach AI backend" error in the app → Ollama isn't running. Open a Terminal and type ollama serve, then try again.

The page won't load at http://localhost:8000 → ComCare server isn't running. Make sure you ran uvicorn app:app --reload and it shows "Application startup complete."

AI responses are very slow → This is normal on first use — the model is loading into memory. Subsequent responses will be faster.

"No module named 'fastapi'" or similar → The dependencies weren't installed. Go back to Step 4 and run pip3 install -r requirements.txt again.

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Your Data & Privacy

• All your care records are stored in a file called comcare.db inside the ComCare folder — on your computer only.
• When using Ollama (the default), your conversations never leave your machine.
• To back up your data, copy the comcare.db file to a safe location.

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Getting Help

If you run into problems not covered above, the most helpful information to share is the error message shown in the Terminal/Command Prompt window where ComCare is running.