Walmart Medical Alert Systems: How Find the Best System From a Blizzard of Choices

Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. Yes, Walmart sells medical alert systems for seniors, both at your local big box store and online through their website. But the number and variety of systems sold by Walmart can be overwhelming.  Even worse, Walmart mixes full-featured medical alert systems with other systems that only offer part of the solution.

To help you decide which system is best for you, we’ve written this guide.

Searching the Website

If you search Walmart’s website for “medical alert,” you’ll get a lot of results but not exactly what you are looking for.  A search for “medical alert” returns results that include medical alert bracelets (which let you carry some of your medical information with you), virtual health assistants (basically an Alexa that reminds you to take your medication) and even bed alarms (which alert you when a convalescent person has gotten out of bed).

These are fine products, but a “medical alert system” is a device that calls for help when a senior has a fall or other medical emergency.  If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll need to reduce the clutter in Walmart’s search results.

To filter out unwanted search results, you need to be very specific in the words or phrase you use in the search bar. If you are looking to buy a full-service medical alert system that will send emergency services directly to your loved one’s home if they have a fall or medical emergency, then you will need to search for the specific phrase “medical alert system” or “medical alert device.”  Other keywords that help are “fall detection” and “personal emergency response system.”

Monthly Fees vs. No Monthly Fees

Even searching for these specific phrases may bring up medical alert systems that aren’t what you are looking for.

Many of the alert systems that are available through Walmart’s website are “no monthly fee” systems that don’t provide the features that more robust medical alert systems do.

We don’t recommend no monthly fee systems if you need features such as fall detection technology or a guaranteed response by an operator any time of day or night.

See our article on Why We Don’t Recommend No-Monthly Fee Systems.

The unmonitored systems will only divert calls to a list of contacts set up by the user – there is no guarantee that any of these contacts will answer their phone. These systems are more of a personal communication device – much like a cell phone – because they lack the other features that are typically provided by subscription-only medical alert systems.

In contrast, monitored medical alert systems will notify an emergency response center that is staffed 24/7.  Their operators will speak to your loved one in case of an alert, sending emergency responders if needed. They can also communicate your medical condition to first responders.

The bottom line is that you need a monitored medical alert system if you have an elderly loved one who lives alone or is prone to falls or seizures. This way 911 (and optionally other caregivers) are notified when the episode happens, and an ambulance can be dispatched immediately to the person’s home.

The Best Monitored Systems

So, to zero in on finding a medical alert system on Walmart’s website, once you remove all of the “no monthly fee” systems from the website’s search results, you will find the following monitored medical alert systems sold through Walmart:

1. Medical Guardian
2. Home & Wellness
3. Lively Mobile
4. LogicMark
5. MobileHelp

Which of these systems do we recommend?

MobileHelp: One of the Best

Of these five systems, we recommend MobileHelp as one of the best monitored systems available – see our detailed MobileHelp Review. This company is a hardware, equipment, and technology leader in the personal emergency response systems industry and its alert system is easy to set up and use on a daily basis. Many companies such as ADT and LifeFone use MobileHelp.

Be aware though that Walmart only sells the basic version of MobileHelp through its website. If you want to buy the more advanced system, you can purchase it directly through MobileHelp online.

TIP: it’s very easy to purchase any medical alert system online directly from the maker itself, so there really is no reason to go to Walmart’s website to buy it. If you need more information on choosing the best medical alert, check out our reviews of the Best Medical Alert Systems for 2024 to find the best medical alert system for you.