subject: Why A Medical Alert System Is Essential For The Elderly [print this page] In the event of urgent assistance being required, elderly or disabled people need a way to contact others, and a medical alert system (also known as a medipendant) is a device that allows them to do that. It provides timely, professional and beneficial help in a number of ways, and is more useful and more reliable than using a cell phone to call 911..
Battery life is one point on which a medical alert system is superior to a cell phone. Once fully charged up, a cell phone may be used for around 2 days, though much less than that if lots of calls are made on it. The battery life for a medical alert system? A year. Yes, they last for a whole year before needing to be re-charged.
Then, they are more robust and, unlike with a cell phone, dropping one will not cause any damage. They can even be taken in the shower, or worn whilst having a bath, as they are completely waterproof. The manufacturers of them have so much faith in their products that a long-term guarantee is standard.
Another problem with cell phones is the size of the buttons, which are extremely small, making them difficult for people with unstable hands or poor sight to use. Compare that to a medical alert system, which has just a single large, easy to press button, which needs to only be pressed only once for a direct line of communication to be opened with a health care specialist.
On pressing the button, the user will not have to wait to speak to someone, as the call will be answered within seconds. There will be no rushing of the call either, and as much time can be spent explaining the situation as is necessary. It is literally like having a dedicated medical professional, who is also a friend, on hand 24 hours a day.
Finally, medical alert systems offer more flexibility. By phoning 911 from a cell phone, an elderly or disabled person will, most of the time, have an ambulance sent out to them, whether they really need it or not, as that is standard procedure for high risk people. There are more options offered with a medical alert system, such as having a doctor sent out instead of an ambulance, a nurses appointment being made for the following day, or just a friend or relative being contacted.
