MediPendant Logo
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LAST UPDATED: August 27th, 2019

MediPendant is a product of Medical Alarm Concepts (MAC), which was created in 2009. The company's management team has over 30 years combined experience in the PERS (personal emergency response systems) industry. Currently, the MediPendant is in use by thousands of satisfied customers. Nevin Jenkins is one of the big brains behind MediPendant. He was the original inventor of the personal alert technology and is still recognized as one of the pioneers in the field. He won the best invention of the year campaign, beating out many of the leading electronics companies that work in the personal alert industry. His companies and holdings own over 20 patents on various technologies related to personal alerts and senior citizen care.

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The Good

  • Pendant and Base Unit Features
  • Benefits

Pendant and Base Unit Features

MediPendant differs from most medical alert/alarm systems because it allows the user to speak and listen to the operator directly through the pendant. Most systems' base unit is the sole interface that connects the pendant or watch with emergency responders. These base units can be two-way speakers, allowing the person to talk with responders throughout the house. MediPendant eliminates the middle man. This makes the system very simple with just a pendant to wear and use with the pressing of a button. There is a base unit, which has a unique feature called a "No phone line" adapter that allows the system to work with or without a home phone.

Benefits

The system offers the following benefits to its members:

  • Price: Depending on the specific product subscription, MediPendant charges about $29.95 per month for 24 hours a day monitoring and emergency dispatch services. Subscriptions are billed annually (once a year), semi-annually (every six months) or quarterly (every three months).
  • 30-day money-back guarantee: If customers decide they're not 100% satisfied within the first 30 days of their purchase, they can cancel the service and send the unit back and will be refunded the purchase price.
  • Monitoring: All call center staff that answers emergency calls are certified EMTs who stay on the line until help arrives. Bi-lingual equipment and operators are available in both English and Spanish. Customers can also conference in a loved one during an emergency.
  • Battery Life: 30-hour battery back-up.
  • Water Resistant pendant that can be worn in the bath or shower.
  • Lifetime Replacement Warranty: If customers cancel their service, MediPendant will refund them for the paid but unused portion of the monitoring service if and when they return the product to their warehouse.
  • Alternative phone coverage: Unlike many of the other medical alarms on the market, MediPendant works with alternative telephone services, including Ooma, Vonage, and AT&T's U-Verse.
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The Bad

  • VoIP Capabilities
  • False Alarms
  • Setup

VoIP Capabilities

There is concern about the product's VoIP capabilities, meaning that a client might need to switch over to the cellular system if any Internet downtime was experienced.

A few additional things customers may need to know is as follows:

  • The Lockbox is only free with the $29.95/month plan. The other plans have an equipment cost.
  • No Fall Detector. Surprisingly, MediPendant's benefits do not include a Fall Detector in case the person falls down and can't get up.
  • Alternative phone coverage issues: Despite advertising that it works with alternative VOIP phone services like Vonage, customers should know that this is service is not reliable. There is a decent possibility that they will have to switch to cellular service using the no phone line adapter.

False Alarms

Also, our Team couldn't find any information about false alarms. While it is common for false alarms to happen with any system, false alarm information is important for determining the efficacy of a product that is being used for fall alerts. The automatic test features of the system don't describe whether or not the product has the ability to run self-diagnostics. The client routinely has to perform test checks on the system, connectivity, and battery to make sure that the system is in good and working order.

Setup

Another concern is that customers have complained that the setup is sometimes a little bit complicated because the client has to run their phone through the machine. The color-coding is helpful, but too many wires and attachments mean that the setup process becomes more complicated.

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The Bottom Line

MediPendant's two-way speaker pendant and no-phone adapter offer a superior solution to current Personal Emergency Response System issues, giving customers more flexibility. The pricing is on the lower side of what systems like these typically cost and there are no additional fees such as equipment or return fees-which lightens the financial burden for seniors and their families. The flexibility of MediPendant makes it easy for a client to take their emergency service with them, using DSL, VoIP or a cellular connection, meaning that the client doesn't have to notify a contact center in advance of travel. The MediPendant system is a viable option worth exploring.

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Sally F Syracuse, NY

I had the MediPendant for my parents. It was hard to get them to test it or to even think that they needed it. But the first time that my dad fell in his bathroom & mom couldn't get him up - it worked great! She was able to stay with him and the operator stayed on the line with her until help arrived. They had no problem using it after that. There was also the time that mom was sick & didn't know if she needed to go to the hospital right then, the alarm operator was able to call me and conference me in. I spoke to my mom right over the pendant. When we decided that she needed an ambulance, the operator was still on the line to do the dispatch for us. It worked great for them! It is a bit heavier than some of the other alarms, but not having my folks need to yell across the house (usually with the TV blaring!) was a great benefit. My mom put it in her pocket all the time, but it came with a lanyard, a wrist thing, and a clip for her pocket. Not needing to charge it every day was great too. Mom wouldn't remember to do that with her cell phone, so it was always dead. I would recommend this to most people. I know that it isn't for everyone, but I hope that people will try it before just looking at the size and rejecting it. It was well worth it for our family. At one point the battery in the base unit "blew up" but they sent a replacement right away. The customer service was great. And the pricing was at or lower than the others that I looked into. No need to have someone install it, very easy to set up and use.

5 years ago

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Robert York

After visiting the website I decided to read the review and it brought with it a warmth of security which is important to me since I live alone without family, but I have such wonderful friends,but even without them,MEDIPENDANT IS anyways there and rest assured, It will never leave you down,and it takes I only please

6 years ago

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Albert Polis Havertown, PA

While my dad was alive we were so happy to have the Medipendant. Being a little hard of hearing he had no trouble hearing through the pendant. We had the pendant for over six years and the price never went up. After dad passed away we returned the pendant and received a refund for the seven months we paid for but was not going to use.

7 years ago

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Amy Warminster, PA

Bought one for my mom, it works great, and she loves it!! Peace of mind for our family, finally!!

9 years ago