Wellbeing Monitoring for Your Loved Ones: How to Check if They’re Safe Unobtrusively

Contents:

• Who Needs Medical Unobtrusive Monitoring?
• How to Monitor Vital Signs Unobtrusively: Home Health Monitors and Mobile Apps
• Non-Medical Unobtrusive Wellbeing Monitoring: Safety Apps, Emergency Alerts and Inactivity Monitoring
• AllsWell Alert Mobile App for Wellbeing Monitoring

Did you know? You can measure central venous blood flow, body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and other vital signs with home health monitors. Yes, now you can do all this without the need for sophisticated medical vitals equipment exclusively found in hospitals and clinics. Unobtrusive monitoring is becoming an increasingly popular method for maintaining the health of young adults and seniors without invading their personal space.

Traditionally, monitoring a person’s vitals would only be done in a clinical or hospital environment where vital monitoring equipment is readily available. However, today, patients suffering from chronic diseases can enjoy some alone time without the need to go to the hospital for critical care monitoring devices. 

The integration of unobtrusive monitoring devices has significantly simplified measuring major vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and respiration rate. All these vitals - and many more - can be monitored from home through unobtrusive monitoring blood pressure devices, wearable heart rate monitors, and blood sugar monitors, among many others.

Who Needs Medical Unobtrusive Monitoring?

Senior members of society and young adults living alone are no strangers to depression, heart disease, emotional stress, and other conditions that need constant monitoring. But sadly, there is a rising shortage of healthcare services. Thankfully, unobtrusive healthcare and wellbeing monitoring allow individuals to monitor their own vital signs through health monitoring devices and smart gadgets integrated with personal safety app.

How to Monitor Vital Signs Unobtrusively: Home Health Monitors and Mobile Apps

Unlike traditional health and wellbeing monitoring, unobtrusive monitoring does not require huge, complicated machines. Instead, people can use wearable devices that are sometimes integrated with mobile apps to monitor their health. Sadly, this would not work well for critically ill patients - such patients require monitoring from the point of care. Here is how to monitor vital signs unobtrusively.

Home Health Monitors

Thanks to technology, you can finally enjoy hassle-free unobtrusive monitoring with home health monitors. These gadgets measure a wide range of vitals, including heart rate, blood oxygen, cardiac output, blood pressure, and much more. Here are some of the most common home health monitors today.

• Blood Glucose Monitoring device - Glucose is the primary source of energy for the body. However, too much or too little brings about serious health complications if left unmonitored for far too long. A non-invasive continuous glucose monitor (CGM) measures blood glucose through skin tissues. Metric information obtained by a CGM can be used to detect the risks of diabetes and prepare intervention before acute care becomes inevitable.

• Blood pressure monitor - A blood pressure monitor goes around the upper arm. Its cuffs fill with air, squeeze your arm, allowing the device to take your blood pressure reading as it slowly deflates. Home blood pressure monitors can help diagnose certain conditions such as high blood pressure early before it leads to further complications. If it records a continuous rise or fall in the average blood pressure average, it’s time to see the doctor.

• Heart rate monitors - A personal heart rate monitor tracks real-time information about the user’s heartbeat throughout. This information provides the basis for continuous monitoring by a health professional. The user can also use such data to determine when it’s time to get into physical exercise and learn what to do to maintain a healthy heart rate.

Unobtrusive Wellbeing Monitoring Using Mobile Apps 

Perhaps the most important development in obtrusive monitoring is its integration into mobile technology. Thousands of people can now observe their personal health without regular visits to the doctor. Finally, no needles, no appointments, and no pain! Keeping track of one’s vitals is now possible through small, portable gadgets and software that can be downloaded on your smartwatch or smartphone. Let’s review a couple of popular health monitoring apps below.

• Prescription Reminder Apps

Did you know that medication is not taken as prescribed 50% of the time? Why do people fail to take medicine as prescribed? Because some fear the side effects, while others can’t understand the prescription or give up on medication. But the real issue that most people can’t seem to get over is forgetfulness.

Prescription reminder apps exist to provide daily reminders through smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets. Usually, with such apps, you can set recurring reminders for your prescriptions. Some more advanced tools allow patients to send reports to the doctor via email.

• Mental Health Monitoring Apps

A good state of mind is crucial in today’s dynamic world. Sadly, searching for mental health services might seem intimidating because many people prefer keeping mental health issues to themselves. Luckily, there are several mental health monitoring apps that help patients search for therapists and appropriate treatment without physically interacting with the therapist. Some of them connect patients to a network of mental health professionals. For a fee, patients can get text, video, and audio messages to their therapist. Others provide questionnaires to evaluate the severity of anxiety or depression or educate people on different conditions. However, it’s recommended to use such apps under your therapist’s supervision. Remember about the dangers of self-diagnosing and always consult with healthcare professionals first.

Non-Medical Unobtrusive Wellbeing Monitoring: Safety Apps, Emergency Alerts and Inactivity Monitoring

In the past, wellbeing monitoring was more of medical practice for patients requiring medical observation. But with the advancement of technology, remote monitoring, and the growth of sole-person households, it has expanded into non-intrusive safety monitoring of your healthy and independent family members living alone. While medical wellbeing monitoring focuses on vital signs, patient-doctor communication, and remote disease treatments, non-medical wellbeing monitoring apps are all about personal emergency response. They also help family members and friends keep their peace of mind that their loved ones who live or travel alone are safe. Previously, these check-ups were mostly done via regular phone calls or messages. Today, technology allows you to check on your loved ones without intruding into their busy schedule. Here are some of the most common safety and wellbeing monitoring apps of this kind.

Panic Button Mobile Apps

Emergencies happen all the time. Unfortunately, some may go unnoticed, having brought about devastating consequences. Panic buttons exist for the sole purpose of notifying your loved ones in case of an emergency. Rather than having a doctor check up on you every second at the hospital, a panic button lets you send an emergency alert at the tap of a button.

GPS Tracking Mobile Apps

GPS tracking mobile apps are among the most useful monitoring options for people traveling or commuting independently. However, let’s be honest: they’re among the most intrusive ones, too. While it’s usually not an issue when tracking the whereabouts of minors, your adult family members will be less than thrilled at the offer of sharing all their locations with you. But there’s a perfect solution. Apps like AllsWell Alert, for example, don’t track the user’s GPS location until about 5 minutes before the emergency alert is to be sent. This way, GPS location tracking happens only when it’s truly required for quick emergency response.

Inactivity Monitoring Apps

Same as overall non-medical wellbeing monitoring, inactivity monitoring originated from critical patient monitoring systems, then expanded into the remote patient monitoring devices, and is finally available as a simple, downloadable mobile application. Why is it important? Unlike traditional emergency response apps requiring the user to push a button for an emergency alert, inactivity monitoring is designed for cases where someone cannot push the button -- which are usually more critical emergencies.

AllsWell Alert Mobile App for Wellbeing Monitoring

Unobtrusive wellbeing monitoring is incomplete without the AllsWell Alert app available for Android and iOS. AllsWell Alert combines the functionality of a panic button, inactivity monitoring, and non-intrusive GPS tracking to ensure the best safety and emergency monitoring for your loved ones living or traveling alone. 

The app features GPS location tracking, international coverage, customization for emergency contact & schedule setup, and state-of-the-art security and data encryption for your personal data. 

There is no doubt that improving the quality of life goes beyond mobile apps. Although unobtrusive health and wellbeing apps may not be enough, getting a trustworthy application from the AllsWell team is a great investment for you and your loved ones. The AllsWell Alert app will always keep your loved one’s safety monitored without having to press a panic button.

Download AllsWell Alert for Android or iOS and get the first month for free!