10 Highly Rated Medical Alert Systems for Health and Safety

Medical alert systems might seem antiquated in the digital age — after all, almost everyone has a cellphone that offers a direct line to 911. But if your phone is on the coffee table when you fall in the shower, or out of power when you suffer an exercise-related injury, it might as well be 1985. For many, medical alert systems provide peace of mind. The concept remains the same: A person in trouble pushes a device button and is instantly connected to a representative trained to evaluate the situation and notify the proper emergency responders. But the technology has come a long way. Modern medical alert systems can protect you in your car and elsewhere, thanks to GPS monitoring. Many offer add-on services, and some are even voice-enabled. The problem is, a whole heap of companies offer competing technologies and services that are too similar to tell apart. Here's a look at the most highly rated companies, all of which earn good marks from widely followed comparison and review sites, as well as individual users.

Related: How Alexa, Cortana, and Other Virtual Assistants Can Help Seniors

MobileHelp is rated No. 1 best overall by The Senior List and is a top-three pick from Senior Living, which crowned it king of its "best equipment" category. Consumer Advocate rates it 9.6 out of 10 stars. MobileHelp offers its "Classic" system that protects users at home with a help button and a base station for two-way communication, and "Duo" and "Solo" systems, which work at home and away. 

The company's "complete protection" devices for home and away include:
— MobileHelp Duo, which provides GPS tracking with a single mobile device, two-way in-home communication, and a single emergency button. It costs $443.40 a year.
— Mobile Duo has many of the same features but includes two water-resistant mobile devices for multiple users and an emergency button. It costs $479.40 a year. 

Neither requires a long-term contract or a landline, neither has hidden fees, and monthly billing is available at a higher rate for both. The company also offers other products such as a smart watch and touchscreen tablet.

Related: America's Healthiest States for Seniors, Ranked

The Senior List named Bay Alarm Medical as its No. 2 choice and bestowed it with the title of "most affordable." Consumer Advocate also ranks Bay Alarm as the second-best overall choice, while PCMag ranks it as No. 1. The company offers four packages. Each comes with 24/7 protection and an emergency-alert device, but more expensive packages offer a variety of upgraded features like auto-fall detection and caregiver tracking.
— In-home medical alert: $19.95 a month for basic protection, $29.95 for preferred, and $39.95 for premium.
— 4G LTE GPS help button: $39.95 a month for basic protection, $49.95 for preferred, $59.95 for premium.
— In-car medical alert: $29.95 a month for in-car protection, $39.95 for in-car and in-home protection. $69.95 a month for full coverage, which includes a mobile GPS device.
— Bundle and save: This option lets you mix and match in-home and in-car service, in-home and GPS service, or full protection.

Both Consumer Advocate and Senior Living give Medical Guardian the title of best medical alert system. It comes in third with The Senior List, which classifies it as "easiest to use." Medical Guardian offers three devices for in-home coverage and three for on-the-go coverage. Each adds on extra services and offerings with each price tier. In-home devices and services include Classic Guardian, $0.97 per day; Home Guardian, $1.12 per day; and Family Guardian, $2.58 per day. On-the-go devices and services include Mobile Guardian, $1.61 per day; Active Guardian, $1.28 per day; and Freedom Guardian, $1.45 per day

Senior Living touts ADT Medical Alert as the "most complete safety offering," perhaps because it's one of the few services that offers in-home temperature monitoring. ADT has long been one of the top brands in home security, and the company's medical alert services are powered by the same network. There are three packages:
— Medical alert basic (landline): $29.99
— Medical alert plus (no landline): $35.99
— Medical alert on-the-go: $39.99

Medical Alert is a top-four pick from Consumer Advocate. It offers four different service options, all of which can be billed annually, semi-annually, or monthly. Although you get the same services no matter how you string out the payments, annual billing is not only cheaper, but comes with extra goodies like a free month of service and/or free shipping. Medical Alert also offers a caregiver app, which any caregiver can download and use to access Medical Alert response operators if they wear a company pendant. The prices for all four services represent the monthly cost if billed annually:
— At-home landline: $18.29
— At-home no landline: $27.45
— On the go: $32.04
— Fall detection: Bundle with any package for $10 extra per month

Related: Most Common Health Issues for People Over 60

Great Call ranks No. 4 with both PCMag and Senior Living. Unlike most services, this suite of apps and software can connect users to monitoring services right from the user's mobile phone. Unlike calling 911, the user just presses a button and, just like with a standard medical alert device, is immediately connected with Great Call's 5Star Urgent Response team member, who then evaluates the situation and locates the user via GPS. Users must have a Jitterbug phone to use the service, which Great Call offers for $99.99 (flip phone) and $149.99 (smartphone). Both require a $35 activation fee, and price tiers are $19.99 a month for basic, $24.99 for preferred, and $34.99 for ultimate. The company also offers devices that aren't mobile phone-enabled, including a wearable watch.

GetSafe is ranked among the top six by both The Senior List and Consumer Advocate. Their devices are sleek, modern, and designed for in-home use only. The voice-activated devices mean users don't have to wear a lanyard or a bracelet, but wearables are available for those who want them. The GetSafe product lineup includes a base unit and mini console, but manual wall buttons or pull cords are also included in some packages, which include:
— Starter (0-1 bedrooms): $99 equipment cost plus $24.95 a month
— Standard (2-3 bedrooms): $229 equipment cost plus $24.95 a month
— Select (4-5 bedrooms): $359 equipment cost plus $24.95 a month

Both The Senior List and PCMag rank LifeFone among their top 10. The Senior List touts LifeFone's free spouse coverage as an industry-leading feature. It offers four devices and packages, all of which are available with optional fall detection:
— At-home landline: starts at $24.95 a month
— At-home cellular: starts at $30.95 a month
— At-home and on-the-go GPS: starts at $36.95 a month
— At-home and on-the-go GPS voice-in necklace: starts at $39.95 a month

The Senior List and Consumer Advocate also both rank LifeStation among their top six. It's in the top five for Senior Living and the top eight for PCMag. LifeStation offers three different packages with optional fall detection, and all cost $25.95 a month when billed annually.:
— In-home traditional (landline)
— In-home plus (no landline)
— Mobile with GPS

Related: 12 Health Goals for Seniors in 2019

According to PCMag reviews and comparisons, Philips Lifeline GoSafe 2 is the best device in terms of GPS tracking. A single-piece system, which some users describe as "bulky," it uses several different location-detection technologies. It costs $44.95 a month, plus a one-time device fee of $99.95. Philips offers other medical alert systems priced from $29.99 a month to $64.95 a month.