I've been wondering about an automated way to do this and also wondering why they don't make more half doses for some of these pills people need chopped up
Every uncoated pill that has a curved surface can be split by placing it on a hard surface and pressing down on opposite sides with your thumbs. The split is more accurate if it is pre-scored -- place the scoring/groove face up during the split. But even without the groove, it is rarely worse than a 55:45 split in my experience. And no, I have no idea why this story is on HN.
I get prescribed Metformin. The local pharmacies only carry the 1000 mg size tablet. So doc prescribes the only available pill size and I cut them in half.
Children sometimes get prescribed medication that a pharmacy might only stock in an adult dose pill. If the pills are small, a pill cutter is a lot safer than splitting them with a knife.
Another application would be if a doctor recommends reducing the dose, but you still have a lot of the originally prescribed pills.
People who have to regularly take half a pill sometimes struggle with breaking the pill into clean halves, or don't like having to use a kitchen knife or whatever and clean it later.
Not every medication is manufactured in the precise doses required. To get to the right amount, a few common doses will be produced with score marks to allow easy(ish) division for a smaller amount. For example, one of my family members has needed a half-pill of thyroid medicine. Something like a 75mcg pill split in half to make it 37.5mcg.
It's common in dog medicines to split pills since dogs come in a wide variety of sizes and the dose is typically based on weight.
Another application would be if a doctor recommends reducing the dose, but you still have a lot of the originally prescribed pills.
In fact the opposite happens here, you end up with instructions like "Take ten", each of which has to be individually popped out of a blister pack.
https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=bookofjoe
EDIT: Yeah, obviously there are dozens at 3 bucks on temu.