Mobile Medical Alerts

Mobile medical alerts or cell phone medical alerts are the latest advance in medical alert technology.

The existing medical alert systems companies haven’t changed their systems much since the 1980s. They still depend on the concept of the home-bound senior who is only going to have an emergency within the confines of their home.

It’s a little outdated, don’t you think?

Let’s take the example of my friend Ralph, who is 94 years old and lives by himself in Seattle. He spends most of his time in the house, sure, but he takes a walk every day down to the corner to get the newspaper, and at least once a week he drives across town to his son’s house for dinner. He drives to the grocery store, too.

While it’s true that since he spends the bulk of his time at home this is a likely location for him to get into an emergency situation and need help, his out of the house activities are not exactly 100% safe. I’d like to see him have some kind of personal emergency response system for when he’s out and about.

And that’s for a very old man who doesn’t get out much. Imagine how much more important this is for younger and more fit seniors who are maintaining and active lifestyle despite age and perhaps some physical decline.

This is why I’m glad to see more mobile medical alert and cell phone PERS systems coming onto the market.

The progress still seems painfully slow, but that’s to be expected for an industry that has been resting on past accomplishments for almost 20 years.

Here are some of the mobile devices that are coming onto the market:

Alert911 by ConnectAmerica. This is a simple “911 only” device without GPS capability. Click for my detailed review of the Alert911.

 

Lifewatch-USA Cellular Medical Alarm with GPS. This unit dials a dedicated monitoring center, not 911, and the operators can assess your needs and dispatch appropriate help. It sends your GPS location to the monitoring center. Read my detailed review of the Lifewatch Cellular Medical Alarm.

 

Jitterbug with 5Star Personal Security. The Jitterbug is a simple but full-featured cell phone with big buttons and a bunch of design tweaks to make it easy to use for people who haven’t owned a cell phone before or who need something less complex that the bloated unit they already have. The 5Star service is a PERS monitoring service that works at home and outside the home. I think it’s a great service: check out my full review.

 

MobileHelp GPS/Cellular Medical Alert. The MobileHelp unit is an all-in-one monitored solution that consists of a base station and pendant for when you’re in the house and a cellular GPS unit with a single panic button for when you’re out or traveling. It’s a well-designed system that will meet the needs of many. Read my complete review of the MobileHelp GPS/cellular medical alert.

Safeguardian GPS Safety Cell Phone by LifeGuardian. The Safeguardian is advertised as a GPS safety cell phone with 24/7 monitoring. The phone is set up with a one-touch button that calls the monitoring center, but it also works as a cell phone to call other people. You can program in up to 20 numbers that can be dialed by selecting them from the built-in address book. Read the full review of the Safeguardian GPS phone.