Apple Watch as Medical Alert Device?
Can you use an Apple Watch as a Medical Alert Device? There are a couple of different ways to do this, but the short answer is yes. Some smartwatches can operate as a medical alert device as well as a smartwatch. This includes the popular and stylish Apple Watch. This is good news for older adults who worry about how unattractive and stigmatizing medical alert devices are. The website Tech-Enhanced Life excellently compared smartwatches that also function as a medical alert device. For this article, we will focus on using an Apple Watch as a Medical Alert Device. However, if you are interested in this topic – and want to learn more about the various products available on the market – we highly recommend reading Tech-Enhanced Life’s review.
How it works
There are a few different ways to use an Apple Watch as a Medical Alert Device. Some of which can be confusing. For the sake of simplicity, our focus is to use an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, paired with an iPhone using GPS.
From Apple Support:
“If Apple Watch Series 4 or later detects a hard fall while you’re wearing your watch, it taps you on the wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert. You can choose to contact emergency services or dismiss the alert by pressing the Digital Crown, tapping Close in the upper-left corner, or tapping “I’m OK.” If your Apple Watch detects that you’re immobile for about a minute, it begins a 30-second countdown, while tapping you on the wrist and sounding an alert. The alert gets louder so that you or someone nearby can hear it. If you don’t want to call emergency services, tap Cancel.
When the countdown ends, your Apple Watch automatically contacts emergency services. When the call connects, your Apple Watch plays an audio message that informs emergency services that your Apple Watch detected a hard fall and it shares your current location as latitude and longitude coordinates. The first time the message plays, the audio is at full volume, but then the volume is reduced so that you, or someone nearby, can talk to the responder. The message continues to play until you tap Stop Recorded Message or the call ends. Wrist Detection must be turned on for your watch to automatically call emergency services.”
The Pros
One of the biggest complaints from older adults is how much they dislike wearing Medical Alert Devices. The devices are unattractive and bulky. They don’t like the stigma that comes with wearing a button device. Upon researching this topic we find that an estimated 80% of seniors refuse to wear their device or forget to wear it.
In contrast, an Apple Watch looks great. It is water-resistant and multi-functional. It has been adopted by athletes and adults of all ages and backgrounds. So, the senior-citizen stigma does not exist with an Apple Watch. Not only does an Apple Watch have a fall detection feature, but it also tracks your heart rate, your steps, the weather, your messages, and of course, the date/time. Plus, there is no monthly service fee with standard Medical Alert Devices. Best of all, most seniors are accustomed to wearing a watch, so it’s easy to adopt an Apple Watch into a daily routine.
The Cons
Tech-enhanced life explains the biggest con to an Apple Watch is that it calls 911 directly unlike a traditional Medical Alert Device which connects to a call center where a reassuring professional evaluates the emergency. The Apple Watch also has to be re-charged daily. Not to mention, there’s also the technology aspect that may be challenging for some seniors.
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Great Information. I am interested in helping seniors. One way is to help them using a medical alert watch to monitor them. Are there any concerns that would prohibit a senior from using your ideas? I enjoyed your post and will be coming back. Be safe.
The only thing that would prevent anyone from using a smart watch is the inability to learn to use it. If the Apple Watch idea is too difficult for someone to learn then it would not be advisable. Any alert system should be simple enough to use for the person needing it.