Question 1

What is MILAE?

Accepted Answer

MILAE is an automatic phone call service with artificial intelligence that checks on the well-being of people living alone and generates actionable information for municipal social teams.

Question 2

We already have telecare in the municipality. Does it make sense to have both?

Accepted Answer

It does, and that is the most common situation. Telecare responds to emergencies and waits for the person to press a button, which works well for those already identified as being at risk and who have agreed to have equipment at home. MILAE is the opposite: it is MILAE that calls, as often as the team decides, and it reaches the hundreds or thousands of people in the municipality that the services know of but do not have the capacity to follow up. When MILAE flags someone who needs more, it is often to telecare or to a home visit that the person is referred.

Question 3

Is MILAE an emergency service?

Accepted Answer

No. MILAE does not replace the emergency line or any urgent-response service: it is a social wellbeing and companionship service. Instead of waiting for the person to ask for help, MILAE is the one that calls, as often as the social care team decides, has a natural conversation and flags anything out of the ordinary to the municipality. No button, no equipment, no installation: it works on the telephone they already have.

Question 4

How does MILAE work for municipalities?

Accepted Answer

MILAE integrates with the existing social team workflows and operates as an automatic follow-up service. The municipality defines the protocols and the residents to follow up on. MILAE makes regular calls, records each person's status and flags situations that require attention, without creating additional operational burden.

Question 5

Where is the data hosted?

Accepted Answer

The whole service architecture runs in European Union regions, including the voice system. It is a rule we do not bend, and the full list of sub-processors is annexed to the data processing agreement. Any change to that list is communicated to the municipality at least 15 days in advance, so that it may object.

Question 6

What about the people the services do not know of, or whose contact details we do not have?

Accepted Answer

MILAE works from the list the municipality provides, so it does not solve on its own the problem of finding those who are on no list at all. That remains fieldwork, the work of social radar programmes, of the GNR's Censos Sénior (the Portuguese national guard's outreach census of older residents) and of reports from neighbours and parish councils. What changes is the time available: with the regular follow-up of those already identified being done by call, the team no longer spends all its hours on the phone and can use those hours precisely to reach the ones who are missing.

Question 7

What information does the social team receive?

Accepted Answer

The team has access to a dashboard with the status of each person being followed up, call summaries, absence or pattern change alerts, and aggregated reports for analysis.

Question 8

How does the call work?

Accepted Answer

MILAE calls at times defined by the social team. The conversation is natural, with questions about daily life, mood and daily routines. After each call, a summary is available on the platform.

Question 9

Is internet or smartphone required?

Accepted Answer

No. It works with any landline or mobile phone. No digital literacy is required, just answer.

Question 10

Does MILAE work when there's no family?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When there's no family, MILAE acts as the main monitoring layer, flagging situations directly to the responsible municipal technicians.

Question 11

Does MILAE replace human contact?

Accepted Answer

No. It complements human care, ensuring regular presence between visits and alerting when something requires attention.

Question 12

What happens if they don't answer?

Accepted Answer

MILAE tries again. If there's still no response, an alert is sent to the contacts defined by the municipality so they can check.

Question 13

How is data handled?

Accepted Answer

Data is handled with full confidentiality, in compliance with GDPR. Only responsible parties authorised by the municipality have access to each person's information. Data is hosted in Europe.

Question 14

How can I find out more?

Accepted Answer

Contact us through the form below to schedule a demonstration or find out how MILAE adapts to your municipality.

Silence never goes unnoticed.

How it works

Automatic call

Confirms well-being

Absence recorded

Immediate alert

Centralized needs

No silence goes unanswered.

The MILAE system, in real time.

The care platform

Real-Time Status

Thoughts on aging and technology

What science knows about loneliness (and the study that inspired MILAE)

Half a million people over 65 live alone in Portugal

More technology, more loneliness? When digital literacy is ignored

How municipalities flag isolated older people, and what happens next

Technology against elderly isolation: what the evidence shows

Living alone is not being isolated: what the European data shows

Frequently asked questions

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