The entire world is going wireless — wireless Internet, wireless car controls, obviously wireless phones. And now the medical alert industry is catching up with technology and is offering wireless medical monitoring.

There were always wireless aspects of medical alarms; the signal from the medical pendant to the base unit that there is a medical emergency has to be wireless (unless there was a really long cord). But now the entire system is wireless.

Up until recently a traditional wired telephone line was necessary to have a medical alert system. The base unit would have to be plugged into a telephone jack. This would limit where the base unit could be placed. And if the phone service went out for any reason, the medical alert system would not work.

But that was yesterday. Today, base units contain cellular service built right in. So when the button on the emergency pendant is pressed, the call to the central monitoring center is placed on wireless cell service. The base unit can now be placed anywhere in the house. And many people argue that the cellular service that provides wireless medical monitoring is more reliable than the old-fashioned telephones.

Using cell service also allows for a portable base unit to be taken out of the house so customers can have protection wherever they go. In addition to cell service, these mobile devices also have built-in GPS so the monitor will know where to send help, even if the client does not know exactly where he or she is.

The  medical alert industry is sometimes slow to adapt to new technologies. Things worked fine with wires, so why change? But now with wireless medical monitoring, the industry is keeping up with the times and providing people with the best possible service.