Even while our parents are still living independently in their home without aid of caregivers it may be helpful to investigate giving them (and yourself) a little additional piece of mind by “hiring” a medical alert system. You have probably seen the television commercials for a well-known medical alert system and understand the basic concept which consists of a wristband or necklace and a transmitter unit powered with electricity. If you were to fall or had a medical emergency – press the button on the necklace or wristband and an alert call is made to the company supplying your system, but research indicates that while the basic system concept remains relatively consistent there are vast differences in Costs, Contracts and Customer Service.

Two companies were reviewed, Life Alert and MedScope America with the following results. They both provide medical alert systems almost identical in size, shape and function. Where the difference becomes apparent is with costs, contracts and customer service. While both companies offer glowing testimonials on their websites, a simple Google search also revealed a large group of unhappy “testimonials” for Life Alert, some which resulted in lawsuits being filed. They had no comment on the telephone when asked about the customer complaints and when reading the testimonials it became obvious there are issues with the demand for a 3-year contract, high installation cost at $300 and additional $40-50 per month rental fee. Add that to the perception of “unresponsiveness” to vital calls and in my opinion it stacks up against them. MedScope America presents the typical glowing testimonials and also the unexpected bonus of allowing me to contact their customers. Four customers were contacted and I again received great comments. In addition there were two other individuals I knew personally using this service and they added kudos for MedScope. MedScope does not charge an installation fee (zero), there is no 3-year contract, monitoring fee is $35 per month, equipment is loaned free-of-charge and customer service is well-trained and highly responsive.