
Apple Watch Medical Alert
If you tuned into the Apple Live event yesterday you heard a lot about the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, as well as Apple’s much anticipated wearable technology called the Apple Watch (nope it’s not called the iWatch). The iPhones continue on their spectacular run of innovation including getting thinner, faster, stronger, and packed with new features like Apple Pay (think iWallet) and integrated health apps.
As you were watching the presentation I bet you weren’t thinking about the next best medical alert system! As we listened to the Apple Watch discussion we just couldn’t help but think about medical alert systems… Here are some of our thoughts on the future of this growing marketplace.
Find out which medical alert system is best for you…
The Future of The Medical Alert System
As someone that follows the medical alert system industry closely, I can’t help but think that we might be seeing the future of medical alert systems before our very eyes. The first thing I thought about when I saw the Apple Watch was that this is the first big innovation in medical alert systems we’ve seen in a long, long time.
How you ask? Consider this: The Apple Watch already has build in sensors to tell you temperature, heart rate and a variety of other health related information. There are already built in health apps that track daily activity which will be useful for family members to track how often their loved one’s are getting around.
This is the first big innovation in medical alert systems we’ve seen in a long, long time.
The Apple Watch has an internal gyroscope and an accelerometer which could lend itself to any myriad of inactivity or fall detections too. Built in messaging could serve as useful reminders notifying the user when it’s time to take their medications, and how they should take them (with food, or not). The possibilities are endless.
Right now the Apple Watch solution isn’t optimal for a variety of reasons. It’s new, it’s complex, it’s tethered to an iPhone, it may not be waterproof yet, etc. The biggest reason this technology won’t be replacing the traditional medical alert system is that there aren’t many medical alert system replacement apps that are ready for prime time on the Apple Watch.
Here’s one industry observer that’s betting on a new simple medical alert application to be integrated into the Apple Watch for seniors. In short order this could become the next best medical alert system on the market. I think that in 5 years you’ll see some very useful apps come to market to address health needs that we haven’t yet dreamed of. Should be a fun ride!
Hi David,
Sorry for my belated response. ZDNet.com just released a review titled: 10 best smartwatches for the 2015 holiday season. I hear great things about the Samsung Gear2 devices, but they are android devices (not yet ready to pair to iPhones). If you guys have iPhones/iPads, I think the Apple watch would do the trick (pebble devices would too). If you had a staff member keeping track of folks in-need, that person could text you, or a clinical-user-group that “Betty” in room 3 needs immediate attention. That may work.
Depending on your practice, you’re receptionist could also triage patients and alert your staff that way too… Hope that helps! A
Hmm- ok, how about the VALRT https://www.theseniorlist.com/2015/05/product-review-v-alrt-emergency-alert/ which is compatible with smart phones and has no monthly fees. Hopefully I’m getting closer? 🙂
Cool- We’ll check it out Eric! – thx, A
Hi Mary- Well the SureResponse is the Verizon model, and Lifeline is from Philips. You would not need to take an additional phone with you if you purchased the mobile (cellular) versions of either medical alert system. Please ask a lot of questions and do your research before purchasing. If we can assist you, please let us know.
Hi Susan! The Apple Watch definitely looks cool, but now that we know more about it, it’s probably a few years away from prime-time. To answer your question; An accelerometer is a device that allows the phone to detect it’s picture mode, or landscape mode. It detects motion and translates that into information. In the case of medical alert devices accelerometers are used in the fall detection devices because through mathematical algorithms they can detect when someone has fallen, OR when someone hasn’t moved in a while (both of which would be cause for concern).
Unfortunately, the Apple Watch needs some time to grow. Here are a list of why we don’t think its ready for seniors (or most consumers for that matter).
1. It’s not waterproof (no not even the sports edition). It is not even recommended to be worn in the shower.
2. It’s tethered to the iPhone. Hopefully it will have it’s own communication ability down the road so you don’t have to take your phone with you all the time. So now you have 2 devices that do largely the same thing.
3. Battery life of the Apple Watch is being called into question. They say you get a day’s worth of charge, but I suppose that the real numbers will become evident when they start shipping them (next year some time).
4. The watch face is awfully small. Now my eyes are pretty good, but I don’t like reading on my iPhone 5S let alone a tiny watch… My iPad is about as small as I like to read on… But for the most rudimentary of tasks (like depressing an emergency call button) this might be too small for a lot of aging adults.
Other question on GPS: I don’t know if the GPS is built-in or if it’s just borrowing the GPS functionality from the iPhone which someone would need on their person. I’ll dig into that one to find out – Great question. (Edited: No GPS on Apple Watch. See below comments)
So in summary, for now it’s probably a nice to have… Down the road (a couple years down the road) it may turn into a need to have. One nice wearable comparable is the Google Glass product. Even thought it’s not widely available, it’s been met with only mild enthusiasm. It’s a nice wearable comparable because it’s also an extension of one’s cell phone except plastered to ones face.
Thanks for the great questions – I may have to turn this into a post!
Susan – An update to the GPS capabilities of the Apple Watch. In short there are none on this early version. It borrows from ones iPhone (too bad). take care – A
Thanks for the feedback Terri- we have an updated review of Philips Lifeline here- https://www.theseniorlist.com/2016/01/philips-lifeline-review-and-user-feedback/.