Seniors and adults living with disabilities sometimes need a little extra help to maintain their independence safely. Falls are a common problem with seniors, and these are often the cause of serious injury and medical emergencies. Medical alert systems provide a tool for seniors and their families that gives peace of mind that help can come in an emergency situation. Through wearable pendants and wristbands, these devices let seniors summon help if they have an emergency at home or on the go.

Many companies offer medical alert systems, and choosing the best one is sometimes tricky. The marketing language and industry jargon used to promote these products can confuse families trying to find the right solutions for their needs.

To help, we’ve created these comparisons that take two medical alert systems and compare their features, costs and benefits. This side-by-side comparison helps families and seniors narrow down their options to make the right choice.

In this guide, we’ll compare RescueTouch, the medical alert system from Florida Health Alert & Technology, alongside Numactive. Both offer wearable pendants and active monitoring, but a closer look at each shows some subtle differences. Here’s what customers need to know when choosing between these two.

Category


Side By Side Comparison


RescueTouch


Numactive

COSTS


Up-Front Equipment


$99


$0


Monthly Monitoring


$24-$64


$34.99-$49.99 with discounts available for annual and bi-annual payment plans


Activation Fee


$0


$0-$150 for Alert Sky, depending on the payment plan. $0 for Alert Home


Contract


Month-to-month


Month-to-Month or Annual


Optional Monthly Add-On Services


N/A


N/A

FEATURES


Water-Resistant Wearable Devices


Pendant


Pendant and wristband


Connection


Cellular


Landline for Alert Home, Cellular for Alert Sky (AT&T, Rogers, or LTE cellular plans)


2-Way Voice Communication


Yes. Voice communication (VoiceConnect) is part of the pendant. All plans offer this feature.


Yes. Voice communication is built into the Alert Sky pendant and the Alert Home base station.


Range (From in-home base unit for landline service)


N/A. The system has no base unit.


200' from base unit


Battery life


2.5 hours when using GPS/5 hours with GPS turned off


72 hours for Alert Sky

FALL DETECTION, LOCATION and RESPONSE SERVICE


Fall Detection


All plans but Family Response and 9-1-1 Direct have fall detection


Yes. Care consultants are fall risk certified


GPS Locator


All plans but the 9-1-1 Direct plan have GPS


Included with Alert Sky


Coverage Away From Home


Coverage extends anywhere with cellular service


Mobile coverage with Alert Sky


24/7 USA Call Center


Yes. Professionally Monitored plans are monitored through AvantGuard, a 5 Diamond certified, UL-listed monitoring center.


Yes. Both plans connect to a UL-Listed emergency care center that is available 24/7.

OPTIONAL ACCESSORIES



None


None

RescueTouch Overview

RescueTouch has two main types of monitoring plans: family monitored and professionally monitored. Under each of these types of plans, the company offers three packages for a total of six options. This allows families to choose the one that best fits their needs and budgets.

Family-monitored plans do not connect to an emergency call center. Rather, they connect to a list of trusted contacts in the event of an emergency. This works well for seniors who have trusted family members living close by.

The other option, the professionally-monitored plans, connect to AvantGuard monitoring. This UL-listed, Five Diamond certified call center has over 40 years of experience helping seniors.

No matter the plan chosen, customers who choose RescueTouch get all of their monitoring through the SOS pendants. Under the family-monitored plans, pressing the SOS button allows the pendant to call a list of trusted contacts. With professionally-monitored plans, the SOS button dials the emergency response center where an operator chooses what to do next. Both types of plans send a “help me” text to the wearer’s friends and family.

RescueTouch is built with automatic fall detection. What makes this technology unique is it adapts to the wearer’s normal activity levels, which limits the number of false fall alerts. It also gives the wearer an override option if it does generate a fall alert when it shouldn’t. All of the plans offer fall detection except Family Response and 9-1-1 Direct

Pros of RescueTouch

  • Trusted monitoring through U.S.-based AvantGuard
  • No annual contract requirement
  • No activation fee
  • Simple operation at the touch of a button
  • Discounts for quarterly and annual plans
  • No cancellation fees
  • GPS location tracking on all but 9-1-1 Direct
  • Waterproof pendant safe for use in the shower
  • Nationwide coverage through robust cellular networks
  • No base unit to configure or power
  • No need for a landline

Cons of RescueTouch

  • Multiple plan options can get confusing
  • No available add-ons
  • Must purchase the pendant

Numactive Overview

Numactive offers two plans. The Alert Home plan has a base station and a small wearable pendant or wristband. It connects to a home landline. This system only works within the home, and the pendant must be within 200 feet of the base to work. If the user activates the button on the pendant, they can communicate with an operator through the base station. If the wearer is too far from the base station to talk, the operator will call their emergency contact person followed by emergency services if needed.

Alert Sky is Numactive’s mobile monitoring system. It has a larger mobile pendant and no base station. The mobile pendant has built-in two-way voice communication, so the wearer can contact an emergency response operator at the touch of a button. It also detects falls and will start instant voice communication if needed. Alert Sky has built-in GPS that allows emergency response professionals to send help directly to the user.

Numactive’s Monitoring is handled through SecurityOne Alarm Systems. This company has friendly, trained operators on hand 24 hours a day, and it is a UL-Listed emergency care center. The company also employs fall risk certified care consultants to help their customers avoid falls.

Pros of Numactive:

  • Two systems to meet most needs
  • Simple use
  • No professional installation needed
  • Works with landline or cellular, depending on the system
  • Simple operation
  • GPS monitoring with Alert Sky
  • Daily battery and power checks on equipment
  • Automatic fall detection
  • Highly rated customer support
  • Waterproof pendant and wristband safe for use in the shower

Cons of Numactive:

  • Must return the device after use
  • Cannot talk to friend or family member directly
  • Short range from the base station for at-home system
  • No discount for purchasing multiple pendants

Pricing Comparison

Numactive’s pricing is a bit easier to follow because it has just two systems. Alert Sky is the more costly at $49.99 a month, and Home Alert is $34.99. RescueTouch has a total of six different plans, with six different prices. Their most affordable plan is much less than Numactive at $19.99 a month, but their biggest package is much more costly at $64.99.

If they choose the higher-priced plan, RescueTouch customers get two monitoring pendants, while Numactive doesn’t offer discounts for multiple devices. Both companies offer discounts if their customers buy a full year, quarter or six-months of service at once.

Our Pick

Nuamctive and RescueTouch have similar offerings, so picking a winner is hard. Both companies get high marks for their monitoring centers and have U.S.-based monitoring. They both offer mobile units with GPS tracking. RescueTouch does not have a system designed primarily for home use, which some families may prefer. Of the two, Numactive comes out slightly ahead simply because it has fewer packages and performs daily power checks on equipment. Either system, however, provides affordable and effective monitoring and fall detection.

Whether a family chooses RescueTouch or Numactive as their preferred medical alert system, they will get a wearable emergency call device with an affordable monthly cost. Both are good choices, so the decision may come down to the exact features a senior is looking for and the cost for the system.

Compare More Medical Alert Systems

Click on the links below to read about Medical Alert system comparisons.