We’re all familiar with the dangers of people we love and care about falling and not being able to get up. Accidents happen to everyone, and for some, especially seniors who live by themselves or spend a significant amount of time home alone, they can be fatal. Healthcare alert systems provide users a security blanket that allows them to live with fewer limitations while ensuring a quick response in the event of an emergency. Medical alert technology has undoubtedly displayed its value by aiding millions of people each year in the home—the operable word here being “home.”
The fact is that an accident can happen anywhere, and with so many medical alert systems being tethered to the house, users become extremely limited in where they feel secure; that is, until last year: AT&T changed the rules when it used machine-to-machine (M2M) technology to introduce a portable medical emergency devices that allow users to get up and go. Today, Royal Philips got onboard by opting to make AT&T the connectivity provider for Philips’ leading medical alert system, GoSafe.
Phillips GoSafe is the only—or should we say the first?—personal emergency response system (mPERS) to harness the power of AT&T’s advance location technology. By doing so, they continue to provide medical emergency security for their clients outside of the home. Public restrooms, parking garages, movie theatres, what-have-you, are no longer risk areas for seniors or people with medical conditions.
Basically, AT&T’s network keeps GoSafe users connected to call centers in the U.S. twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. In the event of an emergency, a powerful sensor inside the device uses the network to alert the call center.
By giving users the ability to move freely with protection, Phillips is effectively enhancing its client services. Anticipating the needs, and wants, of people with allergies, the elderly, and caregivers by granting them mobile coverage eliminates previous limitations on their services, and expands the possibilities for future innovation.
It’s safe to say that partnering with AT&T has given GoSafe metaphorical legs. Where will they go with them next?
Dominick Sorrentino is an editor for TMC and its technology and communications properties.Edited by
Maurice Nagle
