A number of companies have started offering medical alert services, including CVS, which provides Medical Alert System. These services work by giving you a device that has a button you can press when you need medical assistance. If you are not able to get to a phone because you have fallen or have limited mobility, these services can help ensure you get the assistance you need.

What The CVS Medical Alert System Offers

The CVS Medical Alert System, which is offered in a partnership with Connect America Medical Alarm, works in a way that is very similar to most other medical services. You are provided a base unit and a transponder device that you can wear around your wrist or neck. If you need assistance, you only have to press a button on your device, and you will be connected with a representative to help you.

These representatives can call for emergency services if you require them. Representatives can also contact friends and family on your behalf. Monitoring is 24/7/365, so whatever time of day or night that you need assistance, help is there.

The Benefits of the CVS Medical Alert System

Some of the largest selling points of this service are the lack of contracts and the relatively low price. Once you sign up for the service, you’re guaranteed a monthly rate of $29.95, and as long as you don’t cancel at any point, that price is locked in. You can also get discounts for paying in advance; you get one free month of service if you pay six months in advance and two free months if you pay a year in advance.

You can cancel at any time, even if you have prepaid, and any amount that you paid for and will not use will be refunded to you. There is no charge for the equipment or installation; you only have to pay a monthly monitoring fee.

The equipment associated with the service is also fairly good. The battery in your transponder device should last between five and seven years, and the device is waterproof. There’s also a 32-hour battery backup for the base unit that works with your phone lines, so your service should work for about a day and a half if you lose power. Additionally, the response time after you press the assistance button is very quick; the average wait time is 15 seconds.

The Downsides of the CVS Medical Alert System

As with many other services that don’t carry installation or setup costs, it’s up to you to set the system up. You must have a working phone line, and while most of these systems will work with VOIP services, there is no guarantee that it will. Since the system runs through a phone line, if your phone service goes out, the medical alert service will also stop working.

Another potential issue, which is something that is a possible problem for most of these systems, is that certain types of homes or walls can keep the device from working properly with the base. This is not a common issue since bases are designed to work throughout a home, but it can be a problem.

The other major downside of the CVS Medical Alert System is that it is fairly limited. There is no option to have a transponder that will send out an alert if you fall, and the system only works with phone lines. Further, you have to test the service each week on your own; it’s not done automatically, which is something that many other services offer.

Other services can also work with either a standard phone line or cellular service, although there is normally an additional charge for a service that operates off of cellular signals. This means if you leave the house, your service will stop working after you get about 600 feet away from your main unit.

There is nothing that stands out as being particularly bad about the service, but there are more robust offerings for around the same price. However, since you can cancel at any time, there’s no harm in trying out the CVS Medical Alert System to see if you like it.