FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Medical Alert Systems
Here are some of the common questions asked by new Medical Care Alert customers. Please call us at 1-800-978-5570 and ask for a sales associate to answer all your questions.
Questions About Medical Alert Systems
Our medical alert service is right for seniors, or people of any age who are:
- Living alone, or left alone for long periods and need assistance
- Have a medical condition that could require immediate medical attention (such as epilepsy,seizures, strokes, heart conditions)
- Recovering from a fall, hip replacement or other major surgery
- May have trouble speaking clearly with 911 in the event of an emergency
- Want to maintain their independence, be safe, and have peace of mind
Yes! We cover the entire USA – all 50 states.
For customers choosing a cellular based system, we use AT&T Wireless as our cellular carrier (all cellular charges are included in your plan). To check the AT&T Wireless cellular coverage in your area, click on this link to the AT&T Wireless coverage map and enter your zip code. Select the options for “data” and “3G” for best results.
Note: AT&T Coverage Map displays approximate outdoor coverage and actual coverage may vary. Coverage is not guaranteed and is subject to change without notice.
Not necessarily…it depends on which system you choose.
Our “HOME” and “HOME & YARD” systems use regular “land-line” phone service to dial our emergency monitoring center. You can use either a standard phone line (sometimes called POTS – Plain Old Telephone Service) or the newer digital VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) phone services that are available from your cable company or internet provider.
If you don’t have a landline, want to be mobile, or are using a discount phone service like MagicJack or Vonage, check out our “HOME & AWAY” GPS Medical Alert Systems. Use the system at home or away, with NO phone line required.
NOTE: Due to low signal quality, phone service from Magic Jack, Vonage, Dish Satellite phones and Cellular phones are NOT supported. In fact, these phone providers DO NOT recommend using their services with any medical alert systems. If you have a VoIP phone line, please call us to make sure your cable / phone provider is supported.
There are no long term commitments and you can cancel at any time. There are no set-up, cancellation, activation, deposits or up-charges. Once you choose your plan, that is all you pay and this price is guaranteed to never go up.
When you receive your system you’ll get a copy of our Medical Alert Monitoring Agreement which states you can cancel at any time and will receive a pro-rated refund of any pre-paid amounts when the medical alert system is returned to us.
You’ll be immediately connected with our Medical Alert Emergency Monitoring Center and will speak with a live, EMT-Certified operator who knows WHO and WHERE you are. The operator will have your Personal Profile and ask if you need help. Depending on your response and the situation, we will contact folks on your Contact List (i.e. a neighbor or family member), or contact the appropriate emergency responders in your area in the event of a real emergency. If we are unable to hear you, we will assume you need urgent help and dispatch an ambulance.
We also send instant SMS Text Messages to your contacts with cell phones to update them on the situation. Your family and caregivers can even reply to the text message, letting our monitoring center know of any updates to the situation.
We have redundant monitoring centers in New York State and California, and we never outsource our calls overseas.
It just takes a few minutes to set up your medical alert system. Our medical alert systems simply plug into an electrical outlet and a telephone jack. Once you connect the system, you press the button to verify the connection with our Monitoring center and you are all done.
Other companies may charge you a $99.00 installation fee to come plug in their system, but it is often unnecessary.
Depending on which system you choose, your loved one is protected throughout the entire home and up to three football fields outside the door.
- “HOME” Medical Alert System – up to 1,000 Feet from the base unit
- “HOME & YARD” Medical Alert System – up to 600 feet from the base unit
- “HOME & AWAY” Medical Alert System with GPS – nationwide coverage with AT&T Wireless
HOME System – Comes with 2 buttons, no extra charge to monitor 2 people. Additional standard buttons (up to 4) available for $29.95 each, additional AutoFALL Pendant is $60.00.
HOME-3G System – Comes with 1 button, no extra charge to monitor 2 people – just ask for an extra button. Additional standard buttons (up to 4) available for $29.95 each, additional AutoFALL Pendant is $60.00.
HOME & YARD System – Comes with 1 2-way voice pendant, no extra charge to monitor 2 people, but an additional 2-way voice pendant is required. Additional 2-way voice pendants (up to 4) available for $60.00 each.
HOME & AWAY System – Comes with 1 cellular GPS pendant. A second person would need their own separate system. Ask about our “Couple’s Discount” to help save some money.
We include a free lockbox with our annual plans, or you may purchase one from us at a discounted price. The key lockbox is a secure box which easily attaches to your home – just like a real estate agent uses when showing a home for sale. Local emergency personnel are given the combination to the lockbox so they can quickly get a key to your home in the event of an emergency. The lockbox can also be used so that family members or friends can readily get a key to your home when necessary.You can easily take our “HOME” or “HOME & YARD” systems with you on vacation, or if you are a SnowBird. It is very easy to unplug and re-install. Simply notify Medical Care Alert Customer Service at 877-913-3680 of your current location. Information can be changed anytime and as many times as needed at no charge.
Our “HOME & AWAY” systems can be taken anywhere in the USA. You will be protected anywhere you have coverage with the AT&T Wireless network.
Questions About Ordering
Ordering your medical alert system takes less than 5 minutes. We will need the name, address, and phone number of the protected person and where we will be shipping the system to. We will also ask for you to provide a few names and numbers of family members or neighbors you want called in case of an emergency.
Once you receive the system, you will return paperwork to us. You complete your Personal Profile which includes additional names and numbers in the order you want notified, a lockbox code and any medical information or special instructions. This information is kept strictly confidential by our HIPPA-Compliant Emergency Response Center. When you order you will also need to provide your initial payment using a credit card, debit card, automatic withdrawal from checking, or other approved method.
We want you to be happy and confident with your system. But if it’s not right for you, you know you can send it back for a full refund during the first 14 days, no hassles.
f you’re not completely satisfied, call our customer service team at 1-248-946-8172 and return the system for a full refund, or see if one of our other systems does a better job of meeting your needs.
Click Here to read the full 14-day refund policy and return procedure. No fine print, but one caveat: we ask you to actually hook the system up and test it with our Emergency Response Center to give it a real test before returning the system. After all, if you don’t hook the system up, then you don’t really know if it will meet your needs. If you choose to return the system without testing it, then we will deduct a nominal $50 fee from your refund to cover our costs of programming the system and setting up your account. Please keep this in mind if you are planning to give someone a system as a gift. So test your system and see for yourself!
How to talk about getting a Medical Alert System
While you can certainly call 911 from a cell phone or landline phone, this is not a substitute for a medical alert system for the following reasons:
- You Don’t Wear It. The medical button must be on your person and available to signal for help in an emergency. If the cell phone is not on your person and easily accessed, you can’t make the call.
- It’s Hard To Do. In an emergency, will your loved one really have the presence of mind to open a phone, dial 911 (using small keys on the keypad), raise it to their mouth and be able to give their name, location and condition?
- Cell phones need to be charged. Will your loved one have it charged and on them, accessible during an emergency? What about at night while they are sleeping and have an emergency? Medical alert buttons are always on and have batteries that last three years.
- 911 won’t know who or where you are. Cell phones do not provide your name or location – the cell phone will provide 911 the location of the nearest cellular tower, and possibly GPS coordinates within 300 meters of your location.
- 911 is not always local. Some municipalities route 911 calls to a county or other authority. This can add time to getting help when you need it most. As part of our medical alert service, we verify in advance which services dispatch to your exact address – saving important time in an emergency.
How It Works
