Medical alarms are designed for elderly people to stay independent while assuring help is available when needed. Medical alarms also reduce the risk of senior citizens living alone.
Benefits of Medical alarm systems for seniors
Instead of hiring a live-in nurse, you only need to buy a medical alarm system if you are growing old. Such medical alert systems maintain a sense of independence in seniors while assuring they are not alone in an emergency. Here are some top advantages of medical alarms for seniors:
- 24/7 access
It is one of the top benefits that seniors will have access to medical help 24 hours a week. Here are some sobering CDC STATISTICS about fall among elderly
- 1/4 older adults experience fall every year
- About twenty percent of falls cause injury that also includes breaking of bones.
- Falls causes traumatic brain injuries in elderly
- One most common injury due to fall is hip fractures in seniors
- Older people are hospitalized over a quarter annually due to fracture in the hip
- 100% of hip fractures are due to falls in the elderly.
Medical alarm systems are very essential for seniors living life-threatening diseases such as:
- COPD
- Cancer
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Heart diseases
- Respiratory illness such as asthma and emphysema
- Assistance with medication:
They provide timely service and live service to seniors. If a senior is living with illness, such alarms assist with timing, dosage, or any other assistance that is required to remind them to take their medication. With the help of these alarms, the patient can remain to adhere to their long-term treatments.
- Easy to operate:
These systems are very easy to operate. In an emergency, you don’t need to fiddle up with the device. Technology is somehow uncomfortable for seniors but these alarms are specially designed easy to operate. It also has the feature of dropping messages during a crisis. All you have to do is push up the button of the device that is worn around the wrist or neck and the medical assistant is at your doorstep.
- No Wi-Fi needed:
As it is the era of technology and every device works with an internet connection but medical alarms don’t need any internet connection to work when you don’t have such access. They can be directly connected to the landline, so in case of emergency, you can easily make a call to get medical assistance.
- Plenty of options:
Two types of medical alerts system are monitored alarm systems and unmonitored alarm systems. Monitored medical alarms are directly connected to the person on the other end. While unmonitored are connected to the numbers in of series you have to choose from the list. According to the severity of your condition, you can choose an emergency call or non-emergency call from the list. Some medical alarms include emergency chime to alert your nearby caretakers. Some additional features in the medical alarms are:
- Cellular GPS monitoring
- The function of the speakerphone
- Activity tracker
- Wearability options of medical alarms like you can wear around your neck, wrist, or as a pendant
- Bells and whistles are present to alert the nearby people.
- Affordability:
Prices vary for medical alarms. Two types of costs are involved:
- Cost of hardware and
- Cost of monitoring centers access
You can get a basic medical alarm as low as 30 dollars and a high-end medical alarm for hundreds. For the monitoring centers, you have to pay on monthly basis. The monthly fee ranges from twenty to seventy dollars. Services are of caregiver and reminders for medication.
- Independence:
It preserves the sense of independence for living alone among seniors. It can protect their privacy. As people grow they like to live alone in a peaceful environment. When people grow old their reliance on others increases. But this can preserve their self-reliance that increases the quality of living and this keeps them alive for many years.
Risk and limitations of medical alarms:
Some common limitations and risks of medical alarms are:
Loss of phone service:
To use a medical alarm system you must have a landline to connect with. For instance, if your phone service is not working, the device is useless as you can’t contact anyone. But now medical devices can be connected to cellular data if your landline is not working.
The battery in the HELP button is depleted or defective.
In pendants and bracelet types of medical alarms it has a help button. These medical alarms don’t have a battery to perform a function. If the battery is defective or not fully charged these alarms won’t work. But companies are making medical alarms with long-term batteries to avoid such circumstances.
Automatic fall detection:
A great invention in medical alarms is AUTOMATIC FALL DETECTION. It has multiple detection sensors for daily activity and falls. Due to any technical issue sometimes they may not pick up the detection or sometimes creates too much fall detection of any uncertain condition.
Top-rated Medical Alarms of 2021:
Here are the best medical alarms of 2021:
Bay Alarm Medical:
- It is best for customer service
- 1,000 feet of range
- The price of this alarm starts at $19.95
- It has monitoring in over 170 languages
MobileHelp:
- It is best for those who don’t have a landline
- Can be operated with mobile
- The free lockbox is provided
- Price starts at $19.95
- No landline required
Medical guardian
- It is best for its premium features
- It provides free shipping
- It also provides a lockbox
- The price of this medical alarm starts at $29.95
- com special is free for one month
Medical Alert:
- It is best for its low setup cost
- It gives the range of 400 feet
- The price of these medical alarms is $18.28
- Starting fee is as low as $0
LifeFone
- It is the best standalone Mobile app
- The range is up to 1,300 feet
- Starting fee is as low as $0
- The price of this medical alarm starts at $20.79
Aloe care health
- It is the best alarm for remote caregiving
- App is free
- The price of this medical alarm starts at $24.99
- Monthly fall detection at no extra cost
GetSafe
- It is the best Hands free system
- 1,000 feet of range
- Monthly detection of fall only at $10.00
- The price of this medical alarm starts at $24.95
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