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Monday, December 2nd
Medical Care Alert is designed to help older Americans age gracefully at home and confidently live at home longer independently. It's shown that by living at home, older family members tend to stay more active, be healthier, and save money compared to living in an assisted living center. Having a company like Medical Care Alert gives them a sense of security knowing that they are not alone in the event of an emergency.
Website needs an overhaul
Navigating Medical Care Alert's website is a bit of a hassle since it is so wordy and feels a bit disorganized. It doesn't mean they provide a bad service, but we prefer shopping somewhere where everything is neatly laid out and we can quickly identify products, features, and prices without having to swim through so many pages of repetitive sales information. For example, there are four separate pages of FAQ information that we had to switch between to gather all the information we wanted, instead of them having it all in one accessible place. In short, shopping online here wasn't very enjoyable.
Typical in-home system
The first product we looked into at Medical Care Alert is an in-home system. It's similar to what we've seen a dozen other times from other companies. You have a wrist or pendant button to wear around the house with 1,000 feet of range and a base unit with a 2-way speaker plus a giant red button you can push if you aren't wearing your button. You'll get 24/7 monitoring with Medical Care Alert and quickly connect to emergency personnel when you need help. The in-home system can use a landline, or cellular service for $5 more per month. You could also add automatic fall detection to your pendant for $10/month. The total system on its own is $29.95/month and all products can be paid for monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually (which comes with a free month).
Popular watch choice
The smartwatch is becoming a popular choice for medical alert systems since it looks like a normal piece of jewelry and has added features like location tracking, step counting, heart rate monitoring, a companion app for family members, 2-way talk, and more. You can add fall detection for $10/month and an extended protection plan for $5/month. The protection plan isn't a bad idea since the replacement cost for the watch is $350 if something happens to it. Unlike the in-home system, there is a one-time $149.95 charge for the watch on top of the monthly price of $39.95 for ongoing service.
Tiny and convenient
The smallest medical alert system button offered by Medical Care Alert is the "Home and Away Mini GPS Medical Alert System”. It can be worn as a pendant or on a belt clip and comes with a small charging unit that it slides into. It uses 4G LTE for GPS tracking and has a simple button on it to reach emergency personnel. You can upgrade to fall detection for an additional $10/month and buy a warranty plan for $5/month. This device also comes with a $350 replacement fee, so we recommend the warranty if you're prone to losing or dropping things. The mini alert system costs $39.95 per month and you don't have to pay a device fee upfront with that.
Ample product information
Although we aren't the biggest fans of this company's website, we will say that Medical Care Alert gives thorough information about each product. You can read a detailed explanation of all the features for each system and how it works, see a video overview, and view the technical specs. Some companies leave us unsure of a lot of the nitty-gritty details about their systems, but that's not the case here. As long as you're up for some reading, you should feel like you basically know the medical alert systems inside and out before you actually sign up.
2-3 day shipping
Priority shipping (2-3 days) for all purchases from Medical Care Alert is $12.95 with the option to upgrade to faster speeds for $60 or more if needed. You'll also get a free lockbox with each purchase.
14-day trial
There's a risk-free trial for all products from Medical Care Alert. Within 14 days you can try out their features and get a full refund (less shipping costs) of any prepaid monitoring fees if you change your mind about the system and send it back with all the packaging and accessories. If Medical Care Alert finds that the system was never actually connected and tested by the customer, a $50 programming/restocking fee will apply. After the trial, you can cancel your service at any time, but refunds won't be given for equipment.
Join their happy customers
There are customer reviews on the Medical Care Alert website you can read through. We never found anything under 3 stars, so people generally seem really happy with what they receive here. They have an "A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau and reports from customers about having no issues, good range, great customer service, and responsive team members when an emergency arises. Surely if you sign up here you'll be one of these people who are glad they did.
Inexpensive for quality care
Medical Care Alert may not provide the best online shopping experience (we're pretty picky about this), but they deliver on their service. We felt that their pricing was really competitive and we're big fans of having no activation fees. This is probably one of the least expensive places to turn for medical alert systems while still getting phenomenal service and high quality devices. Medical Care Alert has earned one of our highest ratings.
Medical alert systems bring an added sense of safety to the wearer and give peace of mind to their loved ones. For elderly or disabled individuals who live independently, it's important to have a quick means of communication to alert someone in case of an emergency. This could be a fall, the onset of a heart attack, or some other medical crisis. Medical alert systems contact emergency services to provide urgent care to the wearer.
You might think, "Why not just use a cell phone to call for help”? Well, sometimes the time it takes to dial a phone number or look up a phone contact will take too long. Also, it's likely that if someone fell out of their car or even around the house, they may not have their phone in hand. Plus, some patients who show signs of dementia may get confused and not know who to call when it comes down to it - or not have the dexterity to dial.
Medical alert systems can be worn as a bracelet or necklace, so they stay out of the way, but are conveniently accessible at all times. Some companies have shower-mounted devices that can withstand heat and moisture. No matter how you wear your device or where it is, the point is that they're as easy as clicking a single button to connect to an operator and ask for help. A neat feature available with some medical alert systems is the ability for the device to detect a fall before the person even calls for help. This could be life-saving if someone was unable to speak or move due to their fall.
There are quite a few companies that offer medical alert services. Some have a long-established history and tons of feedback from customers. Others are newly entering the industry, so it's important to do a lot of research about each one to find a company that will be responsive to the wearer, keep up-to-date with latest technologies, and be around for a long time. Look for a company that's really transparent with their pricing so you won't be overpaying or confused about what the price will be month-to-month.
We've thoroughly explored many of the companies that sell medical alert systems. They each offer a slightly different variety of features and pricing plans, so you'll need to go with the one that will be the best solution for yourself or your loved one. We've highlighted a few things that we recommend you look for specifically as you shop around:
To give you the best, most reliable experience with a medical safety device, the experts at Top Consumer Reviews have vetted multiple companies and done plenty of research on the pros and cons of each. We hope this information proves valuable guidance to help you find a medical device company that gives you an added sense of safety!
Select any 2 Medical Alert Systems to compare them head to head