Most of the medical alerts you’ll find in a Google search are the standard systems that use a speakerphone in the base station for two-way communication.
Here’s how they work:
When you have an emergency, you press the panic button you wear on your wrist or around your neck (or clipped to your belt).
The base station receives the signal and dials the monitoring center. At the monitoring center, the computers recognize the unit and bring up your personal information. A trained responder comes on the phone and helps you with your situation, whether that’s having a neighbor come over or rushing an ambulance to your door.
You talk to the emergency responder through your base station speakerphone.
The main drawback of this kind of system is that if you’re far away from the speakerphone, or there’s noise that prevents you from hearing it, communication with the monitoring center can be difficult. If this is a concern, check out the Medipendant, a monitored medical alert that has “talk-through-the-pendant” functionality.
There are several different designs on the market, and hundreds of thousands of units installed in homes all around the world.
If you’re interested in a standard medical alert, you have a lot of choices.
I could list them all, but that would get pretty overwhelming. Instead, I’ll carve off just a few to talk about.
1. Bay Alarm Medical
I’m listing Bay Alarm Medical here for two reasons. First is that their pricing is better than most of their competitors. Second is that I know they have a no-pressure sales atmosphere.
I made a video review of their service. See the videos about Bay Alarm here. (If they mention a coupon code, that’s out of date. No more coupon code! Sorry.
Visit Bay Alarm Medical.
2. LifeFone
LifeFone is a monitored medical alert system that costs about $28 a month billed quarterly. They run their own monitoring center, a plus, and they’ve been in business since 1976. LifeFone currently uses the “standard” two-way base-station equipment because it’s time-tested and reliable. When I spoke with a representative from the company, he said the most important things are that the elderly person wears the waterproof button, the battery doesn’t need to be changed often, and the button is simple to press even in an emergency. LifeFone has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. They offer the LifeFone Emergency Care Plan™ that provides a customized response in an emergency based on your preferences. LifeFone has updated their service so they now offer a base station that works without a landline. They also offer complete home protection packages including fire / smoke / carbon monoxide detection.
3. LifeStation
LifeStation is a monitored medical alert system that costs about $30 a month. They offer a waterproof button that can be worn as a necklace, on the wrist, or clipped to clothing. They advertise a 400 foot activation range. If you’re out of voice range the monitoring center will follow your predefined instructions about how to send help. LifeStation operates their own UL Listed monitoring center; they do not outsource their call answering. They offer free shipping and do not require a long-term contract. Click here to visit the LifeStation site.
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The biggest drawback to these units, in my opinion, is that it can be tough to communicate through the base station speakerphone if you’re far away or there’s other noise.
There are two ways around this problem.
- Anytime the button is pressed, the monitoring center treats it as an emergency, even if they can’t hear you.
- For an additional fee you can usually rent “room extenders” that act as additional speakerphone units.
A lot of people have these speakerphone units and are very satisfied with them.
The alternative is something like the MediPendant, which has two-way communication through the pendant you wear. But you might pay a little more for this.
Joe, very nice informative website. I’ve been considering Life Alert for my mother and was wondering if there was a reason you don’t mention them, other than the commercial.
Rick
Hi, Rick–
I’m glad the website has been helpful to you. It’s on my list to do a full review of all the different providers, but I haven’t gotten to it yet. I don’t do a Life Alert review on this page basically because I don’t like their 3-year contract. In my personal opinion it’s not helpful to you as a consumer to be locked in, though their sales reps believe it will protect you on several counts. You can read my back-and-forth with a Life Alert sales rep on the pros and cons of the Life Alert contract.
Very informative. We have been thinking about a system for my Dad, and because he has some vocal chord issues, he does not speak very loudly. For that reason I am leaning towards the MediPendant. It appears that if you pay for one year in advance the cost is comparable to some of the base station systems. Does MediPendant automatically alert emergency medical personnel (911), or do they wait and try to talk to you first?
Medipendant sounds like a good option for your dad. They talk to you first before alerting emergency personnel. But if they can’t communicate with you they’ll notify emergency responders. This is standard practice for monitored medical alert companies.
Hi Joe – we went with Bay Alarm Medical and so far have been very happy with their customer service. But – we used the promo code “Joe” and while they did give us $1 off the monthly fee ($3 off the quarterly plan), they did not give us free shipping as you mention on your site.
Hi, Karen– I think this might be my fault, and I apologize for the confusion. I looked back at the language I’d written (which I’ve since changed). It said “a) free shipping and $12 off the annual plan or b) $3 off the quarterly plan” which is technically perfectly accurate but if you’re reading fast it could be confusing. Free shipping, unfortunately, is only with the annual plan. Even so, with Bay Alarm you’re coming out $50 to $100 a year ahead, year after year, compared to most of the other companies with identical systems. Again, sorry for the confusion and I’ve edited the text to be more clear.
Joe-
I am looking for something for my neighbor that lives down the road. She basically lives alone with a…. not so … helpful son. She is only in her mid to late 40’s, so i am afraid she may not be qualified of any kind of alert program. Also I would be paying for the system and i don’t really have extra money to spend on some place that wants to charge a $100 activation fee and then $30 a month there after for 3 years. I need something simple and affordable with very trustworthy people. This lady has been in my life ever since I can remember. I need help and very good advice.
Dani– That’s really admirable of you to step in to help take care of your neighbor. There’s NO NEED to pay activation fees or get locked into a 3-year contract. Take a look at this page on my site for an overview of what I think are the best systems: https://findtherightalert.com/short-list-of-medical-alert-systems-i-like. For your situation I would guess that the basic system from Bay Alarm Medical would be the cheapest option. If you pay for a year at a time it comes down to only about $20 a month. (What I recommend for your situation is starting with quarterly prepayments and after it’s working out, switch to the year at a time if that’s financially possible. Bay Alarm doesn’t refund unused months, so jumping into the year long stretch right away could be riskier.) Ask more questions if you have them…
Thank you Joe for all you do…This information makes my life a little easier.
Susan
You’re welcome!