Advice to Medical Alert System Providers: Pay Attention!

March 26, 2013 by Amie 2 Comments

It’s time for medical alert system providers to pay attention to consumers

The market for Medical Alert Systems is changing before our eyes. The move to mobile alert systems has just started, and it is the wave of the future. There’s still a place for tethered (traditional land-line based) medical alert systems, but in the next few years we will see a tipping point when all of the pendants, belt clips and wrist watch like alert systems are cellular/mobile based.

The Senior List is trying to change the mindset of medical alert system manufacturers, by asking them to pay more attention to the needs of consumers. Many of these manufacturers/dealers have forgotten about the consumer the minute the device is shipped out the door. When the medical alert company sells you an alert device, you instantly become a valuable annuity to the seller. A typical consumer pays a nominal fee for the equipment, and then pays a monthly annuity in the form of a “monitoring fee” for the alert’s monitoring services (code for access to a call center). These monthly monitoring fees range between $15 per month to over $60 per month (per device). Over the course of a 3 year period (at an average of around $39 per month) consumers are shelling out $ 1,404 for call-center-services. This isn’t chump-change, and consumers should expect good value/good service for their hard earned money!

For this kind of money; 1. You ought to be able to speak to someone (live) regarding service issues when you want… 2. You ought to be able to exchange faulty equipment for operational equipment (at no charge)… And 3. You should expect that if you aren’t satisfied with your current provider, you can walk away with no penalty for doing so. 10 years ago there weren’t many options to choose from, but we’ve come a long way since “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up”… Now there are newer players entering this arena (like GreatCall, Verizon Wireless and SecuraTrac), and traditional players with new products (like MobileHelp, teasing the upcoming myHalo fall detection device).

“When the medical device company sells you an alert device, you become a valuable annuity to the seller.”

If you look around The Senior List, it doesn’t take long to see frustrated consumers complaining about the service (or lack thereof) they are receiving from medical alert system providers out there. A prime example of this can be seen in the comments following our product review of the new Verizon Wireless alert system called SureResponse. Early reviews of the SureResponse alert system are far from stellar… Check out the recent comments section to see what current users are saying about this device. What’s more surprising is the lack of “response” from the makers of the “SureResponse”. A bit ironic eh?

Here at The Senior List we’ve also been frustrated at the lack of response from Verizon. Check out our recent tweets to Verizon… We had hoped to get their attention so we could help you out… AND ultimately help them out! A satisfied consumer is a long-term annuity for them, a dissatisfied consumer leaves Verizon for GreatCall, SecuraTrac, MobileHelp or someone else… Why wouldn’t they want to instill confidence in their new alert device and the associated service? Frankly, it’s simply because they aren’t paying attention.

“Successful companies selling to boomers and seniors will be the companies that are paying attention.”

Note to Verizon… We’d still like to help you… Heck, if you’re not paying attention to us… We’re not sure what (or who) you’re paying attention to. Successful companies selling to boomers and seniors will be the companies that are paying attention. This includes the medical alert system providers/dealers, the hearing aid providers, and the market for vision correction.

Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Filed Under: Medical Alert Systems, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Fall Detection, Medical Alert Systems, Technology

myHalo Fall Detection Coming Soon (Again)

March 20, 2013 by TimOnTech Leave a Comment

New myHalo pendants If you follow the medical alert industry like we do, you may have asked yourself the question: What every happened to myHalo fall detection company? myHalo was one of the first to offer true technology-driven fall detection. Well… the truth is myHalo was purchased by MobileHelp out of Boca Raton, Florida, and then seemingly put on ice for a while. In fact when myHalo disappeared, The Senior List contacted a company representative at MobileHelp who told us that we would indeed see myHalo again soon. He indicated that they were working through some initiatives before rolling the technology back out to the market, and they would be back soon. Well, it wasn’t “soon”, but it’s good to see their fall detection technology coming back.

It looks like it’s only a matter of time now… If you visit the MobileHelp website you’ll see a teaser announcing that the myHalo® Auto Fall Detection Pendant is COMING SOON. What’s myHalo chest strap not clear is whether there are other form factors (what ever happened to the chest strap?) and/or whether this is a mobile/cellular based system or not… (Ya I know… it’s a teaser… it’s supposed to make you ask the question…)

The fall detection technology under the hood at myHalo was solid, so it will be interesting to see what MobileHelp does with it. Kudos to MobileHelp for rolling out new technologies that might impact boomers and seniors in a positive way. Lot’s of questions need to be answered but we’ll be standing by and reporting when the information is available!

Rating: 8.0/10 (6 votes cast)

Filed Under: Medical Alert Systems, Odds & Ends, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Medical Alert Systems, Technology

Study: Backlighting On Tablets May Help Reading Speed And Comprehension

February 28, 2013 by TimOnTech Leave a Comment

The Senior List has long touted the new e-readers and tablets as being increasingly “Senior Friendly”. Now a small study out of Johannes Gutenberg University (Mainz, Germany) has shown some stack of books results that add some science to this notion. It appears that back-lighting from tablets may make it easier for seniors to read on these devices vs. traditional printed materials. In the study, seniors (age 60-77) AND their younger counterparts (age 21-34) overwhelmingly preferred traditional books over the electronic versions. But when the researchers looked at the scientific evidence (in this case combined EEG and eye-tracking measures) they noticed some contrary clues worth noting.

Among the older adults, digital measures “showed shorter mean fixation durations and lower EEG theta band voltage density – known to covary with memory encoding and retrieval – for the older adults when reading from a tablet computer in comparison to the other two devices.” In layman’s terms… The back-lighting from the iPad allowed the older adults to read faster, and comprehend more. This is quite interesting indeed, considering the built-in bias toward traditional printed materials. More scientific data is probably warranted, but this certainly raises some eyebrows.

“In the rapidly changing circumstances of our increasingly digital world, reading is also becoming an increasingly digital experience: electronic books (e-books) are now outselling print books in the United States and the United Kingdom.” Kretzschmar, Pleimling, Hosemann, Füssel, & Bornkessel-Schlesewsky, et al.

Could tablets become mainstream devices or “must haves” for aging adults? Some would argue (including us) this evolution/revolution is already happening. Emarketer.com predicts that the highest growth rates among tablet users will come from users under 12 (huh?) and adults age 65+. With an intuitive user interface (UI), video conferencing capabilities, multi-media at the fingertips, and email… Tablet growth and new applications (apps) will push even more tablets in the hands of aging adults.

Rating: 10.0/10 (2 votes cast)

Filed Under: Apps, Mobile Phones, Technology Tagged With: Apps, Tablets, Technology

BugMe! Pro Giveaway

February 27, 2013 by TimOnTech Leave a Comment

The Senior List is giving away the Pro version of BugMe!

The fine folks at Electric Pocket have provided The Senior List a number of Bugme! Pro App coupons for you to use at iTunes. If you’d like to download the Pro version of the BugMe! sticky-notes-app (for free), let us know on our Facebook page. Just “like” The Senior List (if you haven’t already) and let us know you’d like a coupon for the BugMe! app at iTunes. (Note: We only have the app coupons available for iOS/Apple products… Not android).

We’ll give them away on Friday, so make sure you check back to see if you’re a winner! Thanks again to the developers at Electric Pocket (you guys rock!).

The Senior List is on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TheSeniorList

- Tim “the tech man” Taylor

Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Filed Under: Apps, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Apps, Mobile Phones, Technology

New BugMe! Stickies App Handy For Boomers And Seniors

February 26, 2013 by Amie Leave a Comment

BugMe! “Stickies” offer reminder notes for seniors!

- Press Release -

Wye Valley UK, February 26, 2013 –– Contrary to the stereotype of seniors avoiding modern technologies, many are embracing social media, smartphones, tablets and apps. With The BugMe App for iPhone Facebook and Skype, retirees can stay in touch with family and friends from afar, and with the BugMe! Stickies app, they can jot quick reminder notes to themselves just like they’ve done for decades – but with the benefit of setting alert tones to ensure they remember everything important to maintain their healthy lifestyles.

As more and more seniors embrace technology as part of “aging successfully,” retirement communities have seen the number of residents tapping away on all sorts of apps installed on their smartphones and tablets. Apps are enabling seniors to quickly and easily do their favorite things: enjoy their favorite music, learn new things, stay connected with family, try new recipes, play games with friends, and create fun reminders. Residents at The Stayton at Museum Way, a Fort Worth, Texas community sponsored by Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), are one such community that has jumped head first into the large pool of apps available to them.

BugMe!, the original “yellow sticky” app, enables seniors to jot quick reminder notes (with alerts)

BugMe! Stickies is an app popular among seniors because the handy virtual sticky notes it offers enables seniors to create fun reminder notes for themselves – or to share with friends. With BugMe!, the users can either write with their finger or the app’s keyboard, and place sticky notes on a corkboard. From there, they are able to set alarms and reminders, categorize them as urgent, or even stick them to the phone’s or tablet’s home page for an extra visual reminder.

“Our residents just love to learn and grow more every day, and they have the time to really learn and use apps as a way to access personalized content and stay in touch with family and friends,” said Amy Pearce, Lifestyles Director at The Stayton senior living community. “BugMe! Stickies is a great app for seniors because it’s not only fun to hand-write notes on a digital sticky pad, but it’s also a very practical way to set reminders for themselves.”

For the past sixteen years, BugMe! has been putting the utility and simplicity of the common sticky pad onto the screens of mobile devices. Unlike regular sticky pads, BugMe! enables users to share their notes with friends via email, or by posting them to Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

“While sharing BugMe! notes is a personal way for seniors to express their thoughts in their own handwriting, its core purpose is to serve as a personal reminder system.”

While sharing BugMe! notes is a personal way for seniors to express their thoughts in their own handwriting, its core purpose is to serve as a personal reminder system. Each note can be assigned an alarm which will sound off at just the moment the user needs to be bugged. A favorite feature with BugMe! users is the ability to quickly choose alarm times from a pick list of time intervals – such as 20 minutes or “in an hour”. This makes the application very effective for informal, lightweight reminders, such as watching a TV show, taking medicine, returning a phone call, or plugging a parking meter.

A free version of BugMe! is available in the App Store and Google Play Store, while BugMe! Stickies Pro, which offers more notes, can be purchased for $1.99. More information can be found at http://bugme.net.

About Electric Pocket Limited:

Electric Pocket has been developing mobile applications and solutions for over 15 years from its base in South Wales, UK. The company’s award winning product portfolio includes apps for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Electric Pocket provides engineering jump-start and consultancy services for companies looking to deliver great mobile products. Samsung, Sony and Vodafone are a few of EP’s top flight clients. For more information, visit www.electricpocket.com.

The Senior List is giving away 5 copies of the Pro Version – To see how to qualify click here!

Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Filed Under: Apps, Mobile Phones, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Mobile Phones, Technology

Product Review: The iStand Fall Prevention Exercise App

February 23, 2013 by TimOnTech Leave a Comment

On February 12th HoliVision launched a new iPad app for seniors called The iStand Falls Prevention® Exercise Program. iStand is a fall prevention/exercise app for your iPad that allows users to follow along AND exercise with… “Brenda” (the instructor). Brenda leads the user through a number of exercises (including a warm up and cool down) via video modules. These videos are easy to follow, and the production quality is very high. (We were quite impressed.) The iStand App would be a very nice addition to the other iPad apps in your “wellness” folder, and it’s free to folks that can put up with advertisements (we certainly could). For 99 cents you can buy the Ad-Free-Version, and for $4.99 you can add the iStand Tai Chi module.

About HoliVision:

HoliVision was founded by Mazy Holiday (COO). HoliVision specializes in falls prevention exercise (and education) for seniors. They also focus on the latest technology and design in walking aids for rehabilitation and mobility. Mazy notes that there isn’t a nationwide fall prevention program currently, which is strange because of the number of seniors who are severely injured due to falls each year. This was a driving factor behind the iStand app for iPad.

The iStand Fall Prevention Exercise App:

What: iStand fall-prevention exercise App for the iPad (you won’t find it for the iPhone yet)

Cost: Free (.99 for the ad-free version, and $4.99 for the Tai Chi module)

Recommendation: Senior List Approved – We think the iStand fall prevention/exercise app is worth downloading. It’s very professionally done, and has some additional value-adds like “If You Fall” tips, “Walking Tips”, and a “Home Safety Checklist”.

iStand fall prevention app for iPad

HoliVision also makes an iStand DVD which is currently available on Amazon.com. Holiday says future plans include making iStand available across multiple platforms, and on a global basis. Click thru if you’d like to read HoliVision‘s press release for the iStand App.

Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

Filed Under: Mobile Phones, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Fall Detection, Technology

Winner Of 5Star Medical Alert Announcement

February 16, 2013 by Amie Leave a Comment

Congratulations Image The Senior List is proud to announce the winner of the GreatCall 5Star Medical Alert System drawing. If you’ll recall The Senior List wrote a review of GreatCall’s mobile medical alert system called the 5Star. This is one of the latest in a line of mobile medical alert systems that use cellular networks for location based services, as well as a safety net outside the home. Friday at noon we held a drawing for those that shared our review (on Facebook or Twitter). We’re pleased to announce that the winner of our drawing is Nance Nicholls. Nance, feel free to contact us here, or we’ll reach out to you via our Facebook page. We’ll send it out to you right away (and there’s even a month worth of free minutes left on the device)!

Congratulations Nance! Let’s do this again soon-

Have a great weekend everyone!

Amie

Rating: 7.0/10 (3 votes cast)

Filed Under: Caregiving, Medical Alert Systems, Odds & Ends, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Caregiving, Medical Alert Systems, Product Reviews, Technology

Win A Medical Alert System From GreatCall

February 4, 2013 by Amie Leave a Comment

Share our 5Star Alert Product Review for a chance at winning one!

GreatCall 5Star Urgent Response Are you in the market for a mobile medical alert system? Well The Senior List is giving away a 5Star Medical Alert System (in less than 2 weeks). On February 15th you’ll could walk away with your own 5Star mobile medical alert system just by sharing our review with your friends! If you’re not familiar with the 5Star alert system, we profiled it for you in an earlier post. (You can find it by simply clicking here.) You can win our demo device by sharing our article in 2 ways:

To qualify for our random drawing, simply visit our Facebook page and then “like us”. Once you’ve liked us on facebook, find our posting about the “5Star from GreatCall“. Once you find it- SHARE that post on your own facebook wall… It’s that simple.
Second way to qualify is to tweet our original article. Just make sure you include our hashtag (@seniorlist) so we know you’re interested in winning.

If you wish, you can also comment the Facebook post itself to let us know how badly you want it! You’ll find our Facebook page directly at www.facebook.com/TheSeniorList. Once we draw the winner’s name, we’ll announce it on our Facebook page followed by an announcement on Twitter.

Good Luck to all!

Rating: 6.8/10 (6 votes cast)

Filed Under: Medical Alert Systems, Product Reviews, Technology Tagged With: Medical Alert Systems, Mobile Phones, Technology

Product Review: The 5Star Urgent Response from GreatCall

February 1, 2013 by TimOnTech 10 Comments

Product Review: The 5Star Urgent Response Medical Alert

The 5Star Urgent Response from GreatCall is a great choice when it comes to mobile medical alert systems. These new MOBILE PERS (personal emergency response systems) are redefining the medical alert marketplace (something The Senior List has been advocating for the past few years). The 5Star device operates on a cellular network (Verizon), and is very simple to use. As you can see, it has one (1) button! Push it once to connect to the emergency call center… Hold button down to connect directly to 911. This unit is priced right, and there are no contracts that keep you locked in.

Product Info: 5Star Medical Alert System

Name: 5Star Urgent Response from GreatCall
Website Info: 5Star Urgent Response from GreatCall
Auto Fall Detection?: No
Equipment Cost: $49.99 (retail) plus a $35 (one time) activation fee
Monthly Cost: $14.99 per device
Features: Lanyard is available (but not posted on website), Belt Clip (available for a nominal charge), Easy to use (1 single) Panic Button, Untethered 24/7 Monitoring on a Cellular Network, GPS Tracking is Available (for family and/or caregiver monitoring), Unlimited Access to GreatCall’s “LiveNurse” program, and an Online Portal to help manage contacts, device features, etc. (called myGreatCall.com).

Review: 5Star Urgent Response Alert From GreatCall

5Star Medical Alert

The 5Star Urgent Response Alert System is a great little device, and 5Star definitely makes our “recommended” list. This is another “untethered” mobile alert device that uses Verizon’s cellular network for coverage (you’re not bound by a connection to your land-line connected device). You’re able to walk around the yard, down the street, or down to the shopping mall (anywhere there’s a cell signal). As you can see there is only one large emergency button… and that’s it. Press once to be connected to the GreatCall call center, or hold it down (for 5 seconds) to be connected to 911. GreatCall’s call center monitors 24/7, they’re located in the USA, and GreatCall claims that their personnel is “trained in CPR and 5Star Accessories other emergency procedures“. There is no limit to the number of times your loved one can depress the emergency call button (says Bonnie- one of GreatCall’s customer representatives). If the user is anxious and needs to be connected to their caregiver, loved one, or nurse… A GreatCall operator will patch them through.

5Star Medical Alert in hand The 5Star can not be used as a mobile phone. After all, there are no numbers to dial out. You either connect to GreatCall’s call center, OR you connect directly to 911. The pricing plan is also simple (which we like). At $14.99 per month, it’s one of the least expensive options for your loved one. For a device with GPS tracking, and a US based (trained) call center The Senior List thinks there is good value here. We also like the fact that when you pay for this unit, it’s yours. All you do is activate it (there is a $35 activation fee) and pay your monthly service plan. You can terminate when you want… and you don’t have to worry about returning equipment, or cancellation fees.

When we pressed the alert button we were connected to a live operator within 6 rings. The sound quality on the 5Star was as good any basic cell phone might be (while on speakerphone). One thing to consider about this unit or others like it: Aging adults that have hearing loss could have trouble hearing the device (although we had no issues with it at all). The operator we spoke with was courteous and professional, and when the conversation ended she reminded us how to disconnect from the call center (by depressing the call button again).

On of the other considerations for the 5Star alert system is it’s use for younger kids. We could see this device being used in lieu of a cell phone for a younger (pre-teen) that doesn’t need a phone quite yet. The 5Star could be used as a back-up device if they get into trouble, lost, etc. AND you could pin-point where they are using the built-in GPS technology on board. That piece of mind is easily worth the $14.99 per month to a lot of consumers out there. Our only concern would be that kids could abuse the call button (showing off for their friends) or they could easily lose the device. It might be worth it though, if you were looking for a safety-net for your child…

The Bottom Line:

We really like the 5Star medical alert system. This is a “must consider” device if you’re looking for a mobile medical alert system. This is not a device that you’d bring into the shower or bath with you. IF you need a waterproof pendant option, this is not for you. In most cases however, this device would be a great solution both inside and outside the home. If you’re looking for a mobile medical alert option with GPS location tracking (in case of emergencies) The Senior List thinks the 5Star is definitely worth a look, and we would recommend this device for someone that needs a mobile medical alert device.