How to Get a Medical Alert System This Week: A Simple 5-Step Checklist
Getting a medical alert system does not have to take weeks of research and phone calls. Most people can decide, order, and have a system shipped and ready within a few days. Here is a simple checklist to walk through, one step at a time.
Step 1: Decide Where Help Needs to Reach You
The first question is simple. Does this person mostly stay home, or do they go out on their own - to the mailbox, the yard, the grocery store, a walk around the block?
If they are mostly home, an at-home system like Home Link or Cellular Home Link makes sense. Home Link works over a landline. Cellular Home Link has a built-in cellular connection, so no phone line is needed at all.
If they go out and about, a mobile pendant like Belle is built for that. It works around town, not just inside the house, and can include optional fall detection. Some families choose both, an at-home unit for the house and a mobile pendant for everywhere else.
Step 2: Check What Your Home Has
Before picking a system, take stock of what is already there. Is there a working landline? Is there decent cell signal in the rooms the person spends the most time in? A quick way to check is to stand in the kitchen and living room with a cell phone and look at the signal bars.
Here is the honest part. If a home has neither a landline nor cell coverage, no company's medical alert system will work there, ours included. Most homes have one or the other, but it is worth checking first rather than after the system arrives.
Step 3: Pick Your Wear Style
A medical alert only helps if it gets worn. Necklace or wristband, the right choice is whichever one the person will actually keep on, day after day.
Some people like a pendant that sits low and out of sight. Others prefer a wristband because it feels more like a watch and less like a medical device. Neither is more effective than the other. The one that stays on wins.
If you are helping a parent choose, ask them directly which style they would actually wear. The style that looks the most protective on paper is not helpful if it ends up in a drawer.
Step 4: Gather Three Pieces of Information
Before you order, it helps to have a few things ready:
- Emergency contacts - names and phone numbers for the people who should be called first.
- A short medical list - current medications and conditions worth sharing with responders if help is needed.
- A lock box decision - if you want one, where it should hang so responders can get in without breaking a door.
Our lock box is free if you want it. You choose your own 4-digit code during setup, and it ships pre-programmed to that code. If a family member wants text alerts on their own phone, decide now whether to add the optional Caregiver App too.
Step 5: Order and Complete the Setup Form
Once you know your system, your wear style, and have your information ready, the rest is quick. Order from the shop, then fill out one short setup form - emergency contacts, medical information, your choices, and a signature on screen. It takes about 5 minutes.
Prices start around $30.95 a month by card, less with bank autopay. There is no contract, no cancellation fee, and no equipment charge. If it is not a fit, our return policy gives you 30 days to send it back for a full refund, with free return shipping.
You do not have to do any of this alone. Call (866) 743-7348 Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm Pacific, and a real person will walk through the whole order and setup with you on the phone.
After you order, the system ships 100% set up and ready to go. Plug it in, press the button to test it, and monitoring is live 24/7 from response centers here in the United States.
A Few Honest Limitations
A medical alert system does not prevent falls. Fall detection, when included, does not catch every fall. The system needs power and a working landline or cellular connection to work at all. And it is not a substitute for calling 911 directly when someone is able to.
Knowing what a system can and cannot do is part of choosing the right one. For more on how to compare systems and pick between them, read our buyer's guide.