Medical Alarm Service Monitors (part 1)

While the selection of a medical alarm unit is an important decision, the choice of a monitoring service is at least of equal importance or, in many ways, even more important.

Your medical alarm service provider is the company your medical alarm console calls when you need assistance. Not all medical alarm service providers are alike. Prices vary, quality varies. This is often reflected in the price of your medical alarm purchase.

Most medical alarm packages cost between $20 and $35 per month. When purchasing a medical alarm system, remember, your safety and security are not something you want to trust to the lowest bidder.

Because there is no government regulation of medical alarm service providers, almost anyone can setup a phone bank and claim to be a service provider. Ask questions, lots of questions, before signing a service agreement.

Verify the provider's hours of operation. Do they have blank spots in their service availability?
Ask about response agent training. What are the qualifications of the staff receiving calls?
Confirm that the provider's facility is secure. Do they have backup systems in case of a power outage, communications failure, or fire?

This review is reprinted from and is credited to The Consumer Advisory Council