7 Tips/Considerations for Buying Medical Alert Systems for New Users

Falls are the number one accident-related deaths affecting those over the age of 65. In many cases, what makes falls lethal to seniors that suffer them is that they can’t summon the help they need to be able to recover.

Therein lies the importance of buying medical alert systems.

If you have a loved one in your life that would have difficulty recovering from an in-home accident or might have an issue getting to a phone during a home break-in or other unplanned event, having alert system providers standing by to help at the click of a button could literally save your loved one’s life.

But where should you start when shopping for an alert system? What types of alert systems are worth buying, and which are best avoided?

Below, our team shares key tips/considerations to take into account when seeking a quality product.

1. Table of Contents

   Toggle

   User Reviews

One of the first considerations we implore people to take into account when buying medical alert systems is user reviews. User reviews exist for nearly every mainstream alert product and can give you fast insight into whether or not a product is worth picking up.

Something to note is that the majority of people that leave reviews for medical alert systems tend to exist on extreme ends of the consumer experience spectrum. That means that most people that leave reviews either absolutely love or loath the product.

With that in mind, take reviews with a grain of salt and do your best to separate difficult-to-please people from those that have real, common concerns with a product’s efficacy.

2. Costs

Medical alert systems cost money. That likely comes as no surprise to you, but what may is that the cost of your system does not even come close to ending when you pay your device’s sticker price.

Alert systems tend to have low up-front prices, as a matter of fact, but then get you with steep monthly fees. Fees can hover around $50 per month but may be higher depending on the brand you’re partnering with and the services offered.

3. 24/7 Response Promises

The baseline expectation for emergency medical system features is that there’s somebody ready on the other end of the device to assist during an emergency. Seeing as how emergencies can occur at any time, being available 24/7 is a must.

Still, we’ve seen fly-by-night providers have reduced response times on weekends or during other “inconvenient” hours. While these providers are rare, do your diligence in ensuring that provider responsiveness is up to par 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

After all, adversity doesn’t keep office hours.

4. HQ Professionalism

When your elderly loved one hits their emergency service button, who answers the phone?

Is it a professional operator that’s kind, knows how to communicate, and shows a sense of urgency in delivering help? Is it a flippant person that’s not domestically located and seems bothered? Your answer to that question matters.

Take the opportunity to tastefully test your service provider’s team by summoning them and examining the support you receive. It’s better to find out that the provider you’ve contracted is sub-par during a test than having your elderly loved one find out during an emergency,

5. Fast Technical/Customer Service

You won’t only need to rely on alert system providers during an emergency. You’ll also have to call on them, on occasion, when something goes wrong with your device.

For example, view this mobile medical alert device via that link. You’ll notice it has a green LED light. What if that light stopped turning on?

The first thing you’d do is call technical support to fix the issue, and your expectation should be, given the implications of a dysfunctional device, that they’d fix it fast.

If you’re noticing sub-par technical support when dealing with your system provider, find a new provider.

6. Satisfaction Guarantees

Buying medical alert systems becomes a whole lot easier when you know that companies are going to stand by their products. The way that most companies do that is by offering money-back guarantees.

Guarantees usually ensure quality of service for 30 to 90 days. If during that time you find the device you’ve bought does not fulfill your needs, no harm done.

Not every medical device provider offer guarantees, and not offering a guarantee doesn’t necessarily mean the product you’re buying is a bad one. Still, we think you should prioritize the purchase of products that stand by their efficacy.

7. Insurance Partnerships

While rare, some insurance providers work with certain medical alert systems to provide discounted rates to customers. If your insurance company has one of those partnerships, we recommend looking into them and prioritizing the alert system offered through it so you can enjoy savings.

Note that even if a particular alert system is offered at a discount through your insurer, you’ll still want to run it through the considerations we’ve shared as a cheap yet non-effective alert system is not one that’s worth having.

Buying Medical Alert Systems Saves Lives

You may have put off buying medical alert systems for people that could find a use for them in your life because of the expense or the complications that come with weighing options. Our advice to you is that you stop putting purchasing off and take the leap.

We’ve said it a few times in this post, and we’ll say it again, buying medical alert systems saves lives. Buying the right one is also important, which we hope our tips empower you to do.

If you find yourself in a position where you’d like more information on alert systems or separate health topics, we’ve got you covered. Simply explore more of the content we have on our blog!