VRI (Monitoring Care) ® Medical Alert System Review
- Available on:
MonitoringCare.com (VRI) - Approximately Price:
$29 – $44.95 per month - Promotions: N/A
VRI company has been around for more than two decades specializing in medical alert and home monitoring services. Their main focus is providing reliable medical alert services for seniors or persons at risk. Their motto is “Be safe. Live well.” and this is exactly what their medical solutions provide.
Medical alert systems are great for ensuring safety of seniors and other individuals who might need urgent help. System has many components but the main one is a help button in form of a device which can be worn by the user. Assistance is available at the touch of this button. When the button is pressed, a care center representative will get on the line to assist the person in need and find out what is the cause of the emergency. This means that if anything does go wrong, there will be someone ready to help at the touch of a button and take appropriate actions such as dispatching local emergency response services.
So How Does It Work?
Medical alert system contains a base unit. This is a device which needs to be placed in a central location in the home. Base units needs to be connected to a phone line (in case of landline type of system). Next, there is a wireless help button.
Help button can come in many forms so you can choose the one that suits you best. Usually it is a wrist pendant or necklace. This device connects to the base station wirelessly and is ready to send the signal and establish a connection with the VRI’s care center (this is a call center) anytime, at the press of a help button. Once the connection is established, care center agents communicate with the individual using the system in order to provide assistance. Depending on the nature of the emergency, appropriate action is taken.
Plans and Pricing
1. Medical Alert System
This is an easy to use system featuring the smallest help button in the industry. This is important as seniors sometimes refuse to admit they might need help.
Button being small enough makes it easy to be hidden from friends, neighbors and visitors. Usually family members would buy this kind of system for their parents. This helps them ensure their loved ones are protected all the time. In the end, it is all about providing safe conditions for independent living. Statistics show that there is a high chance of falling among adults 65 and older. This is a leading cause of injury among that group too. Medical alert system is crucial in these situations as when a person falls, it might be difficult to reach a phone in order to call for help. The help button is worn all the time and it is easy to activate in order to call for help in case of a fall.
Features:
- Small help button
- 24/7 call center
- Device can connect to MedReady medical dispensers and smoke detectors
- Two-way voice communicator
- Waterproof help button device
- Range of 600-800 ft
- Self testing feature
- Inactivity timer and wellness checks
- Rechargeable backup battery (40-80 hours life)
- Digital and VoIP compatibility
While we were not able to find pricing information on their website, we have found through other resources that the pricing is $29 per month for a home unit (landline version). Next, a cellular version of the system is priced at $35 a month and mobile unit is available for $44.95 per month. These details are not available on their site and our suggestion would be to contact VRI for precise and up to date pricing information and all other details. Their team will also be able to help you choose the system that fits your specific needs and inform you about specifications that are not available for all of the systems on their website.
2. MedReady Pill Dispenser
MedReady is a digital pills dispenser. It helps seniors keep track of medication they need to take and keeps them on the prescription regimen. Once programmed, the device is easy to use and it can deliver pills up to 4 times per day.
Of course, a caretaker or a professional should initially program the device. When first programming the dispenser, medication is added. Then, clock and alarms are setup. When it is time to take the pill, an alarm will be sounded and it will stay on until the person has taken the pill. This ensures that no dose is forgotten. Another great feature is that this pill dispenser is remotely monitored. This means that that care center agents know when you miss taking medication and therefore they can notify your loved ones or caretakers.
- Releases pills up to 4 times a day
- Alarm is sounded when it is time to take the pills
- Remotely monitored by care center
- Easy to use
- Alarm does not go off until the pills are taken
3. Vitals Monitoring
Now, this is a system not all medical alert companies have in their product range. This device allows users to monitor daily vital signs. Usually, this is something caretakers would get for their clients.
System consists of a modem and vitals monitoring device. With a single touch of a button the vitals and data is transmitted to VRI’s team and care center. If the system algorithm detects that vitals are out of normal expectations, care center contacts the user immediately to check status. Care center also contacts professionals for further triage as the main goal of using vitals monitoring system is to keep its users out of hospital. If vitals data is not received in expected time frames, a reminder calls are made to remind users to use the device in order for their vitals to be monitored and the data to be sent to the caregivers.
Features:
- Monitoring of chronic illnesses
- 24/7 monitoring of measurements
- Data integration with other systems
- Easy to use
- Immediate assistance
- Provides another layer of safety
Peripherals available:
- Blood pressure cuff
- Pulse oximeter/oxygen saturation
- Automatic scale/weight management
- Blood sugar/glucose meter
All the data collected by the sensors can be added to user’s personal health record with VRI. This provides more insights to care center agents when dealing with emergencies and medical alert calls.
Common Questions
“Is there a money back guarantee?”
Yes, there is a 30-day money back guarantee.
“Is there a monthly rental option?”
Yes, it is possible to subscribe on monthly basis.
“What is the usual time I need to wait when I press the help button?”
Average waiting time until the contact is established with call center agents is 5 seconds.
“What is the minimum contract payment?”
Minimum contract payment is for a 1 month of service.
“Is there a backup call center?”
Yes, there is a fully functional backup center available.
“What happens if there is a power failure?”
There is a backup battery which has enough power for up to 40-80 hours.
“What is the range of the system?”
Range is around 250 ft indoors and 600 ft in the open. This depends on your home configuration and environment.
“Is the system compatible with digital and VoIP phone services?”
Yes, unlike some of other solutions out there, VRI systems are fully compatible with VoIP services.
Pros
 |
Pills dispenser unit available as an add-on |
|
Vitals monitoring unit and add-on devices |
|
Nice range |
|
Small help button |
|
A backup battery |
|
Fast response time when the button is pressed |
|
No long-term commitment |
Cons
 |
Some customers report slow delivery of units |
|
There have been some reports of shorter battery life than indicated |
|
No pricing available on the website |
|
No automatic fall detection |
Company Info
VRI is the company behind the Monitoring Care website. This is a company that has been around for more than 20 years now and is one of the industry leaders with over 110,000 customers using the service. Their headquarters are located in Franklin, Ohio. Customers can get in touch with any questions via phone (1-800-860-4230) or email (info@monitoringcare.com).
Call Center
VRI’s call center is called “The Care Center”. Due to more than 20 years of experience, this call center had more than 300,000 emergency responses in the history of its operation. The main call center is located in Franklin, Ohio. There is a backup call center in Springboro, Ohio. Both call centers have 3 levels of backups for their core systems. These include backup communication networks, power providers and generators. All of this is supposed to guarantee operation 24/7 even in case of natural disasters and unforeseen events. VRI is Five Diamond CSAA certified member.
Final Recommendation
VRI is a company with more than 20 years of experience in the medical monitoring industry. They offer a number of standard medical alert solutions as well as several products which can serve advanced users. Products such as remote vital signs monitoring and digital pills dispenser can really help caretakers or family members protect their loved ones when living independently. Using medical alert services helps those at-risk to live safer lives in the comfort of their own home knowing help is available at the touch of a button. Individuals do not need to use this system just for medical reasons. Systems like these are used for general security purposes too, such as having support when living alone and having unexpected visitors. Also, elderly use these systems when going out of the house to get mail or to have a short walk in the garden. They would inform call center agents of their departure. C center agent would then make sure the user has returned home safely. Finally, these systems excel in providing crucial medical emergency response promptly in case when things go wrong or health deteriorates.
We do not sell VRI’s products, only review it. We’ve located a great retailer for you to get this service and they can be found at MonitoringCare.com (VRI)
Have you tried the services from VRI? Do you have thoughts you think our readers should hear? Scroll down and give us your feedback so we can help everyone choose the right medical alarm system to keep them safe and sound.
First, we recommend you to check our 
Called to terminate service in Melbourne Beach,FL. Asked by rep if I would meet him 2 hour drive away or prefer to mail & be re-imbursed for postage. Called again & told another rep not really comfortable with either. Now told it’s a $300 unit & we would b billed for it if we didn’t return it! No problem to come & install to get your business but forget about any service when terminating!
Unprofessional! Just received impossible to understand voicemail because rep spoke too fast and unclearly. Had to listen to it 4+ times and still didn’t know who was leaving the message. I almost deleted it thinking it was a spam call. Was also advised that they were somewhat unprofessional (not clear and concise with their words) with someone else they called about the incident. They had to ask where she was, after chasing around because VRI didn’t readily offer that information. Something triggered the pendant, but Mom couldn’t hear the pendant so didn’t respond. Had Philips Lifeline and when they called, they were good explaining everything. Huge difference! After two months, I’m thinking of switching back.
Very important to have.
I did not have easy access to electrical outlets.
grandson thought that it was a toy!
VRI does support fall detection and mobile units.
Horrible experience