The CareXact App
Introduction
Greetings, my name is Peter Linton, General Manager and Chief Technical Officer at CareXact. I'd like to share some insights about the evolving personal alarm market in Australia and discuss the motivations behind the development of our complimentary CareXact app for our customers.
The Australian market presents consumers with an array of choices for SOS pendants and watches. While some of these offerings might resemble CareXact products superficially, many can be cumbersome and not user-friendly. For instance, certain SOS pendants require users to contact overseas call centres simply to update an emergency contact—a process that is far from efficient. Others demand a complicated SMS-based setup each time there's a need to modify the pendant's configuration.
After assessing the market landscape, our team felt confident that we could offer something better. With over three decades of experience in developing software and technical solutions, CareXact and its parent company's commitment to excellence has been a cornerstone of our enduring success. Our history has taught us that technology should be easy to use. This principle led to the creation of the CareXact app, designed to simplify the use of SOS personal alarm devices for consumers.
At this point, I’d like to hand over to one of the senior developers at CareXact to talk about some of the exciting app features the team have been working on.
Some words from our app developers
Hi, I’m Michael Arnett, the lead developer at CareXact. In my role, I actively participate in customer workshops and spearhead the design and development of the CareXact app. We’re delighted to offer the app to both Apple iPhone and Android smartphone users via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app is free and it always will be. I’d like to highlight some of the features of the app and how we’re attempting to make SOS personal alarm devices easier to use, especially for those who may not be tech-savvy.
The CareXact app means you never have to call a call centre or pay to update your personal alarm device. As the customer you are in complete control of how your personal alarm functions. If an emergency contact goes on holiday, you can update the emergency contact list in a few moments using the CareXact app.
Setting up is a breeze: simply download the CareXact app from the relevant app store and create a CareXact account—all without any associated fees. Opting for an SOS Personal Alarm from CareXact without a SIM card? Rest assured, there are zero charges to use the app. Furthermore, we warmly invite customers with compatible personal alarms from different vendors to move their device to a CareXact account and use the CareXact app. Should you wish to learn more, reach out to our CareXact support team members.
Let’s take a quick lap of some key CareXact app features.
The Devices Screen
The Devices screen shows all your CareXact devices. Here we can see the account has two CareXact SOS personal alarm devices added to it, a watch and a pendant. To add more devices press the + button at the top right corner above the first device in the list. Each CareXact product comes with a product code, after entering the product code, the app will guide you through a few simple steps to setup your SOS personal alarm device under your CareXact account.
Pressing the Settings button next to each device allows you to update the device. If you wanted to make fall detection a little more or less sensitive you can do this in the settings. If you’d like to change who gets called by the SOS personal alarm in an emergency you can also do this in settings.
To call the SOS pendant, press the Call button on the device. For security reasons, only phone numbers in in the personal alarms emergency contacts settings are permitted to call a personal alarm.
To delete a device from your account press the device with your finger and slide to the left.
Adjusting personal alarm settings
We believe apps should guide a user rather than a user having to figure it out as they go or read and understand complex instructions.
To the right note the Previous, Close, and Next buttons. This is what is referred to as a wizard. A wizard is a set of steps that guide a user to perform a task. The task here is update an SOS personal alarms settings after pressing the settings button next to a device on the app Home screen. On the right, you can see how the app guides you through updating the emergency contacts list of the SOS personal alarm. Phone numbers can be updated, the order of who is called first, and if each contact receives a phone call, SMS, or both from the SOS personal alarm when an emergency occurs. Additionally fall detection and medication reminder settings may be adjusted in the settings wizard.
The CareXact app guides you through the process of remotely updating your SOS personal alarm. That’s right, remotely. No need to be in the same room, state, or even country to adjust the personal alarm settings. Living interstate or on holidays overseas? You can use the CareXact app to adjust the emergency contacts of a personal alarm being worn back in Australia.
Location Tracking
Based on Google Maps, the map screen allows you track the most recent location of any SOS personal alarm. An SOS personal alarm will report its location and check for device settings changes every 10 minutes. Additionally, when an alert is raised such as a fall or SOS button press, the personal alarm will immediately report its current location.
Here we can see Dennis walking down Lonsdale Street in Melbourne. If Dennis is lost or confused we can quickly find him.
Additionally, the SOS personal alarm also provides this same location information as a Google Maps link in any SMS sent from the SOS personal alarm to emergency contacts. Even if an emergency contact doesn’t have the CareXact app installed, they can still find where Dennis is in an emergency.
The Alert Screen
The alerts screen is accessible from the bell icon in the top right corner of the app. The alert screen shows a list of alerts Dennis has raised with his SOS personal alarm over the past 30 days. An orange alert indicates a warning, in this case, the battery level of the SOS personal alarm dipped below 20%. Dennis relies on this device for his safety so this is raised as a non-emergency warning. Emergency contacts will receive an SMS only, no call and warning alerts are shown on the app Alert screen. Dennis also has two emergency alerts, an SOS button press and a Fall detection.
An additional alert not shown here is Device Offline. The CareXact system monitors each SOS personal alarm. If an SOS personal alarm device has been unreachable for more than 24 hours, a warning alert is created. This is to ensure someone relying on a personal alarm is not left vulnerable if a device was to be damaged.
The Future
Hi, Peter Linton here again, CareXact GM and CTO. I’d like to take a few moments to discuss how we plan to develop the CareXact app. As more customers come onboard this provides more opportunities for our developers to grow the features of the CareXact app. We invite feedback and are always excited to engage with customers. Many of our best ideas come from you, the customer. If you have any feedback or features you’d like to see in the CareXact app, let us know.
We will be adding more products to the CareXact family over the coming months. Some of those you can read about in the CareXact store, marked as coming soon. Those products will be integrated into the CareXact app as they become available. We see the CareXact app as a foundational piece that provides the platform for CareXact to deliver cutting edge technology in a simple easy to use way for our customers.
Install the CareXact app and sign up for a free account. As we deliver new products and services to market we’ll keep you posted. Also, be sure to follow us on the socials. We announce sales and offers on our Facebook page and you’ll see me delivering content and advice on products including the SOS personal alarm on YouTube over the coming months.