Medical Alarms

A medical alarm is an alarm oriented system aimed to indicate the presence of a hazard which may call for serious attention and refer for emergency medical operates. Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) or medical alert are other terms for medical alarms.

Senior and disabled people who generally live unaided require/use medical alarms. A medical alarm can provide instant help when required.

Medical alarms for seniors:

The target users of these devices are seniors who usually suffer from multiple diseases. These medical alarms bid a fast and easy way for the senior people with health issues or those who live alone, to get help during an emergency situations. In short, these systems contain a help button that dials up and connects you to your caregiver or a live agent through emergency response center.

As seniors around the world live longer, governments and healthcare leaders are found embracing the concept of getting old in place. High-tech advances continue to enable seniors’ desire to live self-sufficiently.

The basic medical alarm systems use a landline, a base unit and a portable help button which you can wear around the house, but for people on the go there are cellular options and GPS-based mobile solutions. There are some other options that automatically send an alarm when a fall is detected. Even there are some services which will even call you to remind you take your medicines.

Top Medical Alert Systems:

Medical alert systems are a great way of enabling your ageing loved ones to remain at home and still get the help they need it. Choosing the right system like a system that won’t be difficult for you to use, and the one that will fit the best with your loved ones needs is a real task.

Following are some top medical alert systems according to health researchers:

  1. Medical Guardian:

It is editor’s choice top medical alert system and offers a top-quality service highly appreciated by its customers. It is an all-in-one wearable device that has both GPS and Wi-Fi capability.

  • Price: Its price is $29.95–$49.95 per month
  • Services: It provides in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life: In-home station offers thirty two hours backup battery in case of power outage while mobile pendant battery lasts up to five days.
  1. Bay Alarm Medical:

Bay Alarm Medical is one of the best featured top system among all. It provides high-quality service at an excellent price point with innovative features like in-Car Alert­ which sets it apart from others.

  • Price:Its price ranges from $19.95-$39.95 per month
  • Services: It provides in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life:  In-home station offers 32-hour backup battery in case of power outage. Pendants have five-year battery life with no recharging.
  • Special features: Automatic fall detection, location tracking, caregiver tracking, personalized fashion necklaces to cover pendant are some of special features.
  1. MobileHelp:

MobileHelp is regarded as the top system having best services among all. The services offered are same, but pricing is slightly different. Customer satisfaction is the element that sets it apart from competition.

  • Price: The price ranges from $19.95–$44.95 per month
  • Services: It also provides both in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life: At-home base station offers twenty four hour battery life in case of power outage.
  1. Medical Alert:

Medical Alert is the top system in term of best warranty. The company has earned the highest certifications for their 24/7 emergency one-to-one care centers.

  • Price: The price ranges from $19.95–$42.95.
  • Services: It offers in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life: At-home devices provide 36-hour backup battery and mobile devices offer battery life for up to five days.
  • Special features: It provides mobile app for caregiver.
  1. GetSafe:

GetSafe is the only provider that offers voice activated emergency monitoring at home. As it doesn’t need you or a loved one to wear a device. For easy access standard wall buttons and voice activated wall buttons are placed throughout your home.

  • Price: Its price is $24.95 per month
  • Services: It offers only in-home services.
  • Special features: It provides hands-free use of emergency system without wearing a button, automatic fall detection
  1. LifeStation:

LifeStation is one of the top fastest response giving system. With help of Amazon’s Echo dot, caregivers can ask Alexa to check on a loved one and find their location. Similarly, caregivers can also check on a location with a simple text message.

  • Price: It’s pricing ranges from $21.95 to $37.95 per month.
  • Services: It provides both in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life: For mobile system battery life is five days.
  1. LifeFone:

It is top rated best range device. LifeFone is recognized by Harvard Medical School, the Better Business Bureau and the Trust Pilot.

  • Price: Its price ranges from $24.95 to $39.95 per month.
  • Services: It offers in-home and on-the-go services.
  • Battery life: Mobile pendant has battery life of five days.
  • Special features: It provides a wearable wrist button and a mobile Alert app for persons.

Medical Alert Devices:

Medical alert devices are both active and passive. Active devices need the user to take some action to activate an alarm while passive systems monitor the user and raise an alarm based on an algorithm i.e. a fall or lack of activity, etc. Both the passive and active devices necessitate that the user must wear the device.

There are a number of both active and passive devices that can be used to activate an alarm during an emergency.

It could be:

  • A tiny sized pendant worn around the neck.
  • A small device worn on the belt.
  • A wristband.
  • Motion detectors installed in home.
  • Radar founded detectors in a room.
  • A smart phone.

In short there are so many medical alert devices for people in need and each of them has its own list of pro’s and con’s. The decision of which device will work best for your needs can be complicated and what works for one person won’t inevitably work for another person. This is a big decision, hence making a refined choice is essential.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_alarm

https://www.health.com/health-reviews/the-best-medical-alert-systems

https://www.mendeley.com/search/?page=1&query=medical%20alarms%20for%20elders&sortBy=relevance

https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-medical-alert-systems#:~:text=Medical%20alert%20systems%2C%20also%20known,that%20requires%20an%20immediate%20response.