Medical alarms are generally used by people at a high risk of suffering from a medical emergency. The emergency will pose an immediate and urgent threat to the health or life of the patient and therefore assistance must be available as soon as possible. If it is feared that the usual emergency medical response will not be sufficient, then the person may make use of a medical alarm that will alert the response team even faster than the usual emergency response. It also avoids the risk of the patient being alone or out of reach of necessary communication means when the emergency arises.

Medical alarms should be used by those most at risk of suffering from a medical emergency. This will include the elderly, the terminally ill, and people with some conditions such as diabetes or epilepsy.
The patient and also their family and close friends should be aware of how to use the medical alarm should an emergency occur.