Medical Alert Systems – All about the best personal emergency response systems, Devices for seniors, Safety buttons, necklace, bracelets, jewellery for elderly, Fall monitor, detection, call alarms for homes and on mobiles and highest rated wireless monitoring products
Detailed information about the best Medical Alert Systems !
A medical alert system is designed to signal the presence of a hazard requiring urgent attention and to summon emergency medical personnel. Other terms for a medical alarm are Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) or Medical Emergency Response System (MERS)
Typical systems have a wireless pendant or transmitter that can be activated in an emergency. When the medical alarm is activated, the signal is transmitted to an alarm monitoring company’s central station, other emergency agency or other programmed phone numbers. Medical personnel are then dispatched to the site where the alarm was activated. Elderly people and disabled people who live alone commonly use/require medical alarms.
Five different types of functionality of the best medical alert systems in the market:
Personal Device including a wireless transmitter, which is worn around the neck, on a belt, or on a wrist, an application running on a smart phone and carried in a pocket and the device may contain a speaker and microphone
Sensor including fall detection sensors, movement sensors, door open/close sensors and usage sensor on a device such as a microwave oven.
Communication – cellular data access for operation anywhere there is cell phone coverage, an in-home base station that is either connected to a regular telephone, or to a WiFi network, an ISDN line, or to a cellular data network. The base station may contain a speaker and microphone
Data – some systems will transmit the GPS location of the alarming device and other can be configured to transmit additional personal information when an alarm is triggered (such as age, medical history, etc)
Responders including Class-B EMT Operators, local 911 service and friends or family.
In addition there are various other types of accessories (emergency buttons, fall sensors, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, flood detectors, motion detectors) that can be placed around the home and integrated with the base station. Many base stations are available that can be connected over analog or digital ISDN connections. In the event of a power failure, these devices can operate on batteries, thus adding an extra degree of safety.
Also, in case of emergency the user can set off a call for help by the press of an alert button on his personal device, without needing to reach the telephone. Systems with passive alerts may set off a call for help if no movement has been detected over some period of time, or if a fall is detected.
Five different types of providers of medical alert systems:
Hospital programs which are operated by volunteers.
Companies that provide for seniors in their homes.
Full service companies that provide installation, ongoing education and periodic testing programs.
Individually coordinated services that rely on a smart phone app to communicate alerts to a list of personal contacts.
Closed systems which are run by an organization such as a university or CCRC
Different types of medical alert devices to trigger an alarm:
Pendant worn around the neck
Small device worn on the belt
Wristband
Installed motion detectors in a home
Radar based detectors in a room
A smart phone
Active devices require the user to take some action to trigger an alarm condition; passive systems monitor the user and raise an alarm based on an algorithm – a fall, lack of activity, etc. A weakness of active devices is that the user must be conscious to trigger the alarm. Both passive and active devices require that the user wear the device. Installed systems can be expensive and difficult to deploy.
Choosing Medical alert systems for the elderly
When selecting a medical alert system for seniors, start by evaluating your loved one’s specific needs and abilities — both now and how they might change in the future. For example, if he has dementia, would he understand how to operate a system ? Or is something automatic, like a fall-detection device, more appropriate? Does he have a disorder, such as aphasia, that will make communicating with a call center difficult ?
Four important points to remember when buying from among the best medical alert systems for seniors :
Type of equipment
Is the device comfortable to wear and is it attractive or unobtrusive enough that your loved one will be willing to wear it? Check to see whether it is waterproof and can be worn in the shower, especially since many falls happen in the bathroom and kitchen. Find out about the distance the device will operate from the base unit and whether it includes GPS so that it works anywhere you go in the community. Battery life, technology updates of the device and the ability of your loved to manage the same must also be considered.
Also, check to see if you need more than one unit to cover the entire home and yard and whether the system requires an electrical connection, or is it battery operated or backed up. What type of phone service is required — cellular or landline, or both? Can you add stationary buttons around the home?
Response and monitoring
Remember the average response time should be a matter of seconds, not minutes. Check to see if the company operates its own response center or contracts the same externally. Also the dispatchers or operators must be trained, and be able to communicate in your loved one’s preferred language. Besides quality customer relations are key. There should be a live person you can call 24/7 with questions about the service. Other options may include email, live chat, an easy-to-navigate website and a comprehensive FAQ section.
Cost involved
Beware of complicated pricing plans and hidden fees. Look for a company with no extra fees related to equipment, shipping, installation, activation, or service and repair. Don’t fall for scams that offer free service or “donated or used” equipment. Also, you should not have to enter into a long-term contract. You should only have to pay ongoing monthly fees, which should be about $1 a day. Be careful about paying for service in advance, since you never know when you’ll need to stop the service temporarily (due to a hospitalization, for instance) or permanently.
Make sure there is a full money-back guarantee, or at least a trial period, in case you are not satisfied with the service. And you’ll want the ability to cancel at any time with no penalties and a full refund if monthly fees have already been paid.
Availability in your area
Many national companies offer medical alert services, but they may not all be available near you, so call and inquire about service areas. Local companies may be an option, as well. In addition to companies that have been in the medical alert business for decades, technology companies and home security companies are now increasingly offering these services, as well.
Contact your local area agency on aging. Ask if it has a list of companies offering medical alert services locally. Check with your senior facility. If you or your loved ones lives in a senior community or facility, it may offer an in-house or external medical alert system as part of its overall services. Beware of facilities that only have pull cords in a few places throughout the room or apartment. Too often people don’t fall or become ill within convenient reach of the pull cord.
Some of the 6 best medical alert systems in the market to consider before buying yours:
MobileHelp
MobileHelp offers some of the most popular medical alert systems, with their products generally either home-based medical alert systems, on-the-go systems, or a mix of the two. The home-based ones are centered around a base station made by MobileHelp themselves rather than a third party, and this comes with a mobile help button to call for assistance if needed. The base station runs on a celullar network rather than a landline, which offers the advantage of still being on even in the event of a power failure.
There’s also a suite of online tools provided, which can be used to register and monitor both the service and its use. It can also include medication reminders as well as track user activity when required. The suite is mobile friendly, so can be access on a computer or smartphone. On-the-go services tend to be based on either a pendant or a smartwatch, so that it’s with the person who needs it at all times, while still easy for them to access and use.
There are no upfront fees with any MobileHelp service, so all hardware is included in the prices and there are no activation fees. The MobileHelp Classic basestation comes in at $19.95 per month, but the mobile options tend to be relatively expense at over $40 a month each, though there are discounts for paying annually that make the service much more competitive. Among the service features of note is that the speakerphone is especially clear, more so than some rival service providers. And while MobileHelp openly state that they don’t provide their own call centers, they do use Rapid Response, which is an award-winning service for customer care.
GetSafe
While GetSafe offers traditional medical alert systems similar to other providers, not least a home hub and neck pendant, it differs in also offering voice-activated consoles as a main product. This means setting up alert boxes around the home, but the senior doesn’t have to wear or press anything – they can literally just call for help when needed, and describe what sort of help they require. Both landline and cellular options are available. Pricing for the service is $24.95 monthly.
The up-front equipment cost will be a little more out of your pocket, but your monthly fees will never increase. A lot of other medical alert systems roll the equipment cost into the monthly monitoring fees, which leads to monitoring costs as high as $60 a month. GetSafe charges you for your equipment from the outset, but you won’t have to pay more than $25 per month to monitor your medical alert equipment unless you add fall detection.
You’ll appreciate that every GetSafe package includes both traditional wall buttons and voice-activated buttons. That means if you fall and you’re not near a panic button, all you need to do is shout for help and assistance will be on the way. Plus, you get a waterproof, wearable help button that gives you a direct link to help if you want a more traditional emergency response experience.
QMedic
QMedic focuses on a mobile wearable bracelet or pendant, which not only has an alert/help button, but also allows two-way communication so that you can do more than just ask for help – you can also clearly state what help you need and whether you require medical assistance. As well as being waterproof it is also proactive and can flag unusual user behavior patterns.
QMedic provides top-rated home medical alert systems featuring cellular, landline and mobile GPS services. With proactive technology developed by MIT scientists, QMedic’s mission is to help your loved ones age independently and with dignity in the home.
Medical Guardian
Medical Guardian offers a comprehensive suite of services that form an “always-on-call, personal emergency response system.” This starts with personalization options, and the system can be configured for cord cutters without a landline, and for coverage of outdoor areas via a simple setup process. The account gets accessed via the MyGuardian Customer Care portal for payment options and additional resources. Monitoring is provided via multiple 100% US-based monitoring centers.
As falls frequently occur in bathrooms, it is reassuring to know that Medical Guardian includes waterproof communication options. For those times that a fall victim may have gone unresponsive, often due to another medical condition (for example stroke, seizure or cardiac arrhythmia) being the cause of the fall, as opposed to slipping on a rug, there is an integrated Automatic Fall Alert to assist.
Also, there are options to cover additional family members so they can benefit from the system, and get assistance as well if needed. The website features an online risk assessment score to gauge the risk of a fall. The company offers a range of products, including options to use at home, and others for on the move. At the low end is the Classic Guardian system, that features a base station that connects to a landline, with a watch-style device that maintains a connection to the base station across over 1300 square feet.
Bay Alarm Medical
Bay Alarm Medical is a popular medical alert system because it has something that can work for everyone. Whether your biggest concern in a device is price or mobility, Bay Alarm Medical has packages that address both. Its starting base price of $19.95 per month is one of the cheapest in the industry, and you can choose from medical alert devices that work at home, in your car, or walking through the park.
This company really only misses the mark when it comes to voice activation and its mobile app. Bay Alarm Medical doesn’t offer an emergency button you or a family member can activate with your voice in a medical emergency. And you have to pay an extra $5 per month if you want to use the caregiver app to keep tabs on your loved one. You can choose between landline and cellular monitoring, which comes in handy when you have a family member who feels more comfortable using a device that works with their home phone.
For over 70 years, Bay Alarm Medical’s singular mission has been to protect the most important things in life – family, health and independence. They pride themselves in providing the best senior life-saving alert systems in the nation. Their clients are fully protected with industry-leading medical alert technology and backed by one of the country’s most reliable, USA-based, 24-hour medical alarm emergency call centers.
Philips Lifelife
You can find a Philips Lifeline medical alert package that will work in your home or when you’re on the go. Best of all, you can get fall protection in both scenarios—without adding extra fees to your monthly bill. That opens up a whole world for folks who like to get out and about, and the advanced tracking technology in the Philips GoSafe 2 plan has you covered both at home and when you’re away—without the need for extra equipment. That means help will be on the way no matter where you are when you need it.
With options for at home or on the go, there’s a Philips Lifeline system that fits every lifestyle. At the press of a button, seniors have 24/7 access to Trained Care Specialists who can connect them to the support they need. And their interactions with Philips Lifeline are visible to their caregivers through Philips Cares — to help provide insight into their overall well-being.
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