5 Common Medical Alert Mistakes

And how to avoid them

5 COMMON MEDICAL ALERT MISTAKES

Table of Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................4

Mistake #1:...................................................................................................................................................5

Mistake #2..................................................................................................................................................10

Mistake #3..................................................................................................................................................17

Mistake #4.................................................................................................................................................22

Mistake #5..................................................................................................................................................25

Resources...................................................................................................................................................27

Systems I Like............................................................................................................................................28

Send Me Feedback!....................................................................................................................................31

5 COMMON MEDICAL ALERT MISTAKES

Copyright 2012 by ElderlyMedicalAlertSystems.com. This version published 1/20/2012 All rights reserved.

The Author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this document. However, the author and publisher make no warranties of any kind, express or implied, with regard to the informational content, documentation, or files contained in this book or in any accompanying media files, and specifically disclaim, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall the author or publisher be responsible or liable for loss of life, health, profit, or any commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special incidental, consequential, or any other damages in connection with or arising out of furnishing, performance, or use of this document, program files, instruction, audio or video connected with this information. For more information, please write to: PO Box 1426 Eastsound WA 98245 joe@agingparentrescue.com

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5 COMMON MEDICAL ALERT MISTAKES

Introduction

This special report sets out 5 common mistakes people make with medical alerts.

Please note that the contents of this report are my opinion and may or may not be of value to you.

As with all purchases you make and any actions you take to protect your loved ones, please use your own best judgment when you purchase, set up, or use a medical alert system.

Don't miss the Systems I Like section at the end. It's not meant to be an exhaustive list, but it might help narrow your choices.

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Mistake #1:

Mistake #1 is buying a medical alert that doesn't have enough range.

You know, humans are pretty good at underestimating things. We underestimate how long things will take, how much a project will cost, and so on.

So it's not surprising that we're not very good at estimating distance or at forecasting how much range we might need in a medical alert.

Typical medical alert ranges

Generally speaking, medical alerts have advertised ranges of between 100 and 600 feet.

This may seem like plenty, even at the short end. (In fact, it's pretty good at the high end, which is where I would suggest you concentrate.) But let's consider all the factors.

There's distance, which you might be underestimating. And there's reduced transmission through walls & ceilings. And then there's interference from other devices in your home.

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The problem with short range units

Short range units are designed to be installed at a central location in a small house.

My house is pretty compact, but it's still almost 50 feet from front to back. (Most rambling ranch homes are much longer than this.) For my house, a unit in a central location would be only 30 feet or so from me no matter where I am in the house. Consider all your activities

when trying to determine how So far, so good. But the 100 foot range touted by much range you need. the manufacturer is for ideal test conditions, not for real life. Throw in a few walls, a second story, and who knows what interference from the various electronic devices in the house, and that range could drop a lot.

Depending on the quality of equipment, it might even be the case that being 30 feet away through several walls and a ceiling is about the maximum real-world range of the medical alert unit.

(The only way to know for sure is to test a unit in your own home.)

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Are you inside all the time?

Consider your daily habits. Do you spend time outside? Your yard could quickly add many feet to the amount of range you need. Luckily, yards and gardens are usually free of obstructions like walls.

I know an elderly man in Seattle who spends most of his time sitting in front of the television in his very comfortable easy chair. But at least once a day he gets up and walks down to the corner to buy a newspaper, and each day he goes out front to clean up the sidewalk. Each night he takes out the trash, which is at the back end of his property, along the alley. The trash cans are up three cement stairs that don't have a railing. Where is he more likely to get hurt and need a medical alert?

Inside the house where he is sitting still 90% of the time? Or on one of his frequent errands outside?

In Ralph's case, I'm actually a lot more worried that he will run into trouble outside than inside. If he had a medical alert with a short range of transmission he would be adequately protected inside the house, but things would get a lot less predictable once he was outside.

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How to avoid this mistake

First, measure carefully.

Pace off the distance from the base station's location to the farthest place you'll be on a daily or weekly basis. Make sure to consider your outside activities. Second, ask questions.

Before you buy, ask the company about the effective real-world range of the unit, not the range under ideal test conditions. Most reputable companies have nominal ranges of 300 foot or greater, but it's good to double-check. Third, test it yourself.

There's no better proof that the unit will work in your home than to set it up and test it.

This, of course, requires that you purchase a unit that comes with a good return policy. Many companies offer a 100% money back guarantee within a certain time frame. Check the policy carefully, of course, because sometimes you have to pay a restocking fee or will be charged a fee for the original shipping cost. Some companies don't accept returns, or else they make the process very difficult.

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My opinion

In my opinion, the units at the high end of the range scale are more appropriate for most people. Most seniors are not completely inactive. We want to encourage their activity and their ability to look after themselves. I would hate it if Ralph in Seattle felt that he couldn't take his own garbage out because he would be straying outside of the area of protection afforded by his medical alert.

In this case, many of the units with long range also have great two-way communication capabilities (see Mistake #2).

Also, the technology behind medical alerts is changing. Some new units work with the cellular network, so there's no issue of distance from the base station whether you're inside or outside. Learn more about changing technology at elderlymedicalalertsystems.com.

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Mistake #2
Notice I said effective. I'll define what that means in a minute.

Mistake #2 is buying a medical alert without effective two-way communication

Units without two-way communication

First, let's cover the fact that some medical alerts, particularly at the bottom end of the price scale, do not have real two-way communication.

The companies that make these devices aren't quick to reveal exactly how they work, but if you're attentive you'll see through their roundabout language. They'll talk about quickly establishing communication with the injured person (or some such), but here's how these low-end units really work:

After the alarm is pressed, the low-end autodialer takes over the phone line to dial pre-programmed numbers. (In this case the machine is a no-fee medical alert rather than a monitored system.) The person who answers the phone gets a recorded message that the caller is in trouble. Then they have to wait up to 90
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seconds for the line to clear before they can call back and announce through the speakerphone unit that help is on the way. At no time can the two people actually talk to each other. Some people refer to this as two way communication, but I don't see how they can do it in good faith. Luckily, these companies are in the minority, but you still want to watch out for them.

None of the companies/units listed at the end of this guide use this technology.

Different kinds of two-way communication

As we've seen through the above egregious example, companies mean different things when they talk about two-way communication.

The chief real-world difference is between units that offer two-way communication through the base station and those that do it through the panic button pendant. This is a big difference.

Base station units

Units that have two way communication through the base station are basically two-way speakerphones. If you've ever had a conversation over a speakerphone,
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you will understand how these work. Both parties can speak to each other just like on a regular telephone.

This is called a full-duplex speakerphone. A speakerphone that is not full-duplex is more like a walkie-talkie, where only one party can speak at a time.

The big problem with speakerphone models comes because of the limitations of distance.

Basically, you have to be close enough to the speakerphone to be able to hear the other person and to make yourself heard.

Now, please note that medical alert systems are specifically designed with what the manufacturers refer to as very powerful and sensitive speakerphones. They claim to be able to pick up sound from far away and also to be very loud.

That's great, as far as it goes. But I know how hard it is to hear someone leaving a message on our answering machine when I am upstairs, even if it's at full volume. In fact, at high volumes it's sometimes more difficult to hear because of the distortion that develops in the system.

My biggest concern about base station speakerphone units for medical alerts is that a closed door or even just being far away could make the two-way communication feature not work as expected.
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Is this such a problem?

Well, it could be. I have read of once instance where an elderly person activated their medical alert because their house was on fire, but the responding alarm monitoring center sent an ambulance because they weren't able to communicate with the gentleman and find out the nature of the problem. Unfortunately, the individual died.

If you're always going to be in easy talking range of the base station, then a base station speakerphone unit is probably just fine. And it will save you money.

And if your home is large, you can purchase/lease an extender unit that communicates with the base station. This means you have additional speakerphone units in strategic places in your home, like upstairs or in your bathroom or bedroom.

A good example of the base station speakerphone system is Bay Medical Alarm. See later in this report for more information about this company.

By the way, I'm only comfortable with base station speakerphone systems for use with a monitoring center, not in a no-fee system that just dials friends & family.

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Two-way pendants

In the past few years several models of medical alert have come on the market with two-way communication built into the pendant.

These units are in effect small portable cordless phones (not cellular phones we'll come to that in a minute).

They communicate with the base station just as normal panic buttons do, except that you can actually talk and hear through the pendant.

The pendants are a little larger than regular panic buttons, but not much. And some are even waterproof or water resistant.

At least one manufacturer makes a unit that has two-way communication through the pendant at a range of up to 600 feet. That starts to sound pretty good to me.

Think back to the example of my friend Ralph. This kind of range would certainly protect him in his house and in his yard. It might even cover his trip down to the corner to get the newspaper (though I would hope that if he had trouble while out on the corner that some helpful neighbor would come to his aid).

You can get two-way pendant units for use in monitored systems and for no-fee
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systems. A company called MediPendant does monitored systems and a company called LogicMark sells units for no-fee systems. The units themselves are very similar. See the end of this report for details.

Cell phone systems

A recent innovation in the market is the use of cell phone technology in the panic buttons. At least one unit on the market (MobileHelp) has a small unit, about the size of the cordless phone unit described above, that is actually a functional cell phone (albeit one that only dials the monitoring center) and Global Positioning System (GPS) transceiver.

With this unit you can call the monitoring center from any location with a cell signal. The unit can identify your position as well as let you speak to the monitoring center staff.

This is a great advance and will help many people feel safer even when they have active lives that are not constrained by a 600 foot radius around their medical alert base station.

But remember that most of the time when you're out and about there are usually other people around, so when in doubt make sure you've got good coverage at
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home.

How to avoid the mistake of poor two-way communication

Take the time to think through how you're going to have two-way communication. Figure out where you spend the most time and where you think you are at most risk of getting hurt. (Of course, you can't predict that with 100% accuracy.)

Most people do just fine with a simple base station speakerphone. There are hundreds of thousands of these units installed in homes all over the country.

But if your home is larger, consider a base station extender or a unit that has communication through the pendant.

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Mistake #3
Mistake #3 is not carrying the panic button

Having a medical alert installed in your house won't do you a bit of good if the button is out of reach when you have an accident.

In fact, if you're not going to wear the panic button, don't bother buying the system.

There are several reasons why people don't wear their medical alert buttons.

First, they were never interested in the first place.

If the person you're buying a medical alert for doesn't agree that they need one, or if they're actively hostile to the idea, don't try to tell yourself they'll get used to it and start wearing the button. They probably won't, and you'll diminish your relationship with them by nagging them.

Nobody likes to have things foisted on them by well-meaning outsiders, even when the outsiders are members of their own family.

Remember that needing a medical alert means that someone has reached a point where other people aren't confident they can take care of themselves. This is a
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pretty difficult position to be in, after a lifetime of being self-sufficient.

Second, the buttons aren't to their taste.

Never underestimate the power of personal taste. Not only does wearing a medical alert potentially tag you as someone who can't take care of yourself, but many of the buttons especially the ones that have been on the market for many years really aren't that attractive.

Not all buttons are ugly. Some are coming on the market that are positively slick looking. But that, also, may be a problem for your intended user.

Personal taste is, well, personal. You can't really predict it. But if you're dealing with someone who worries a lot about their appearance, take this into consideration.

Third, the buttons might not feel comfortable

When I've tried on the wristwatch-style panic button (like the one carried by Bay Medical Alarm), I hardly noticed it was there. The button is small and light, so it pretty much disappeared from my awareness. So for me it wasn't uncomfortable at all. But some people don't like things on their wrists.
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Likewise, some people get irritated about having something around their necks, which is the other common way to wear a medical alert.

Fourth, they might forget

I'm a pretty forgetful person, so this would be a big one for me. If you take your pendant off at night and put it on the bedside table, you have to remember to put it back on in the morning.

This is one advantage of a wristwatch-style button: you can just leave it on.

If you're looking for a medical alert for someone who is particularly forgetful or has cognitive issues, think about how you're going to make sure they wear it so it's available when they need it.

How to avoid having the person not carry their button

Whenever possible, involve the person who will be using the medical alert in the decision. The first part of that decision process is whether to get a medical alert at all. The second part is what kind to get.

Bring the person in on the discussion at an early stage. Note that just asking, Do you want a medical alert? might not be the most effective way to go about this.
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Instead, you might be able to have a real discussion about how the person feels living alone, and whether they worry about being able to get to the phone if they need help. If they do worry, then a simple answer to this problem is to get a medical alert system.

Make sure you understand all about the different kinds of medical alerts and understand what different companies offer by doing your research at elderlymedicalalertsystems.com

If they don't worry about being alone without help, you can either try to change their mind or you can accept the fact that they have their own opinion.

Talking to older people about their declining abilities is one of the biggest interpersonal challenges we face. But there are good resources. For example, you can look for help in your local senior citizens' center or local aging counselor. You can also find people in your area who are experts at helping seniors live independently. If books are more your speed, there are many helpful books available on taking care of elderly parents. Respect personal taste

It's a mark of respect to respect people's personal taste for what they do and don't want to carry around with them. You may not be able to find a perfect unit that
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meets everyone's aesthetic wants, but you have to find something the person who needs the unit is willing to wear.

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Mistake #4
Mistake #4 is not reading the fine print in your contract

Often when we're shopping online we spend so much time comparing different options and agonizing about which product to buy that when it comes time to put our money down we're just so eager to get the process done that we don't pay a lot of attention to the picky little details of the purchase. But these can come back to make trouble.

There are two basic kinds of contracts when you're buying a medical alert system. The first is a real contract that you have to sign. Not every company uses these. Typically these contracts bind you to a specific term of service for a lockedin price.

The other thing to look for is terms and conditions of the sale, which can sometimes hide bits of language you might not really like.

Note that there's nothing wrong with contracts or terms and conditions, per se. It's hard to buy anything online without having to agree to terms and conditions, but the problem is that you're usually doing so at a moment when you're trying to get off the computer, and at best you skim them.
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Please read all contracts and terms & conditions carefully! It's worth the extra time.

If you're reviewing a contract, be sure you understand what will happen when the contract expires. For example, one brand of medical alert apparently used to have a 3-year contract that would automatically renew 6 months before the end of the contract.

This was a problem on two fronts. In the first place, there was no way to get out of the contract after the short guarantee period if your needs changed or the company stopped providing the level of service you needed. Second, the automatic renewal (with lock-in) meant that some customers who weren't happy with the service but who weren't paying attention were automatically locked in to another 3 years of service.

Now, this company has changed its contract and it no longer renews automatically. That's great, but the lesson remains that it's important to read the contract carefully.

Especially because most people who complained about the policy said they didn't know about it, but it was in the small print.

Some companies don't have a formal contract, but they do ask you to agree to
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terms and conditions. This can happen even if you're buying a no-fee device or a monitoring contract with a month-to-month agreement. The terms and conditions will specify how your payments are handled and what you need to do to cancel the service. Make sure that you're comfortable with how it's set up, because you're making a legal agreement.

How to avoid the problem of not reading the contract

Well, it sounds obvious, but the solution is to take the time to read the contract. Make sure you're not in a rush when it comes time to make your purchase. It's worth the time to do this properly.

Above all, don't let yourself be rushed by a salesperson whose goal is to close the sale rather than to make sure you understand the contract. (And remember, too, that it doesn't really matter what the salesperson says, the agreement you're making is the written one in the contract. If what the salesperson says is different from the contract, that could be a red flag.)

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Mistake #5

Mistake #5 is not doing everything you can to prevent the need to use the medical alert system

You purchase a medical alert so it can be there in an emergency, but you don't want that emergency to take place.

After all, which is better, spending $500 on a medical alert system and never using it, or using it because you broke your hip and ended up in the hospital with a long and expensive recovery?

Medical alert systems don't do anything to protect people from getting hurt. They just help you get a faster response.

How to avoid this mistake

There are many, many things you can do to make the home environment safer.

For example, you can do simple things like removing clutter and tripping hazards from traffic areas. Here are a few areas to think about:

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Secure carpets or remove loose rugs Get a stable step-stool

Add grab bars in the bathroom and in other areas where needed Provide mobility aids as soon as they are needed Install good lighting on all stairs Ensure that smoke detectors are installed and working Check appliances for safety And more...

Your opportunity to help...

I'm working on a guide to help people make their homes safer. (It's going slow...) Can you help me out by sharing with me what your biggest challenge is when it comes to home safety? Have you tried already? Run into problems with cost? Motivation? Too many options? Please email me at joe@agingparentrescue.com. Thanks!
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Resources
There's a lot more to learn.

Congratulations on taking a first important step to making a smart purchase of a medical alert.

Needless to say, the biggest resource I want you to check out is my website at ElderlyMedicalAlertSystems.com.

The site is a work in progress, so if there's a question you have that I haven't answered on the site, or which you can't answer with any of the links provided on the site, please send me an email at joe@agingparentrescue.com so I can address your question.

One book I've found helpful in my own thinking about caring for elderly parents is The Complete Eldercare Planner by Joy Loverde. Turn the page for a list of systems by usage type.

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Systems I Like

At this point, I prefer monitored systems to unmonitored ones. I like the idea of having a trained responder on the other end of the phone, but obviously there are also good reasons for a non-monitored solution. No-Fee Systems

No-fee systems do not dial a monitoring center. Instead they dial either 911 or a pre-programmed list of friends and family members. Some of these systems (especially at the low end) use centrally-located speakerphones, but I'm personally wary of these because I worry about being out of range. 911 only unit

LogicMark has a 911-only unit that is a talk-through-the-pendant style unit. It only dials 911, so it's good if you just want coverage for a life-threatening emergency. The unit is the LogicMark Guardian 911. Find out more by clicking this link: http://elderlymedicalalertsystems.com/logicmarkguardian911.
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Friends & family unit

LogicMark has another unit, the Freedom Alert, that can be programmed to dial up to 4 friends and family members. You can program it to dial 911 if no one else is reached, or you can even use it just to dial 911, like the Guardian Alert. This unit provides a lot of flexibility. Find out more about the Freedom Alert by clicking here: http://elderlymedicalalertsystems.com/go/logicmarkfreedomalert.

Monitored Systems
Standard Base Station Units

If you're looking for a standard base station unit, check out Bay Medical Alarm. They offer very standard equipment at a very fair price. And it gets a little better if you use the promo code joe either online or when you call and talk them on the phone. With the promo code you can get free shipping and a free lockbox (important for allowing emergency responders access to the house), plus $1 off per month on the quarterly payment rate. Visit Bay Alarm Medical at http://www.bayalarmmedical.com. (Note: There are dozens of other vendors selling this kind of service. You can read more about these options on the website: http://elderlymedicalalertsystems.com/monitored-medical-alertsystems/monitored-medical-alert-list.
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Two-way Pendant Units

For a monitored system with two-way communication through the pendant, the company to look at is MediPendant. They have national distribution of their systems. You can learn more about MediPendant online at http://getmedipendant.com or call them at 877-539-9132. Their pricing is very reasonable, and you can pay quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. (You get back any money for unused months if you cancel.) They provide all the replacement batteries and the system keeps track of when the battery is getting low. I know from customer reports that their sales staff is knowledgeable and totally nopressure.

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Send Me Feedback!

If you have feedback on this booklet, please send it to joe@agingparentrescue.com. I'd love to hear from you, even if you have something negative to say. Just be polite!

I'd especially like to hear from you if you found this guide helpful, or if you can identify something that's missing or confusing so I can fix it.

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