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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 4:35 PM EASTERN TIME

PRESS RELEASE

SOURCE: RESPONSE USA, INC.

RESPONSE USA, INC. ANNOUNCES GLOBAL SETTLEMENT

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Response USA, Inc. ("Response") (OTC:
RSPN - NEWS) announced today that it has entered into a Global Agreement
("Agreement") with its major lenders, McGinn Smith Acceptance Corp. and KeyBank
National Association (the "Lenders"), certain of its officers and shareholders,
Messrs. Jeffrey and Andrew Queen (the "Queens"), and one of its wholly-owned
subsidiaries, Health Watch, Inc. ("Health Watch"). Under the Agreement, Response
has agreed to transfer to the Queens its ownership interest in Health Watch in
exchange for the Queens' direct and indirect ownership interests in Response.
The Queens indirectly own approximately 46% of the outstanding capital stock of
Response. The result is that the operations of Health Watch will no longer be
part of Response's operations. As part of the separation of Health Watch from
Response, certain assets will be transferred between Health Watch and Response
so that Response will have the assets it needs to continue to operate its
business. Response retained contracts that generate approximately 85%-90% of the
monthly recurring revenue of the operations. The Agreement also provides for
Health Watch personnel to assist in the transition of certain business
operations to Response, including a transition of the monitoring of the personal
emergency response system contracts. In addition, Response will be able to
acquire from Health Watch HW 3000 and HW 6000 personal emergency response
systems for a period of up to seven years. The Agreement also resolves a number
of disputes between Response and the Lenders. The Agreement includes mutual
releases and non-competition and non-solicitation provisions as agreed to by the
parties. The Agreement and the transactions described therein is subject to
approval by the Bankruptcy Court.

Response also announced that, as contemplated by the Agreement, on August 30,
2001, it and five of its wholly owned subsidiaries filed voluntarily to
reorganize under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to facilitate a comprehensive
restructuring and recapitalization of the company's business. Messrs. Robert
Rosenfeld and John Forte, who collectively have over 30 years' experience in
corporate restructuring and turnaround, bankruptcy and other business-related
consulting to companies operating in a wide spectrum of industries including
call monitoring and telecommunications, have been appointed, pursuant to board
resolutions, as Directors and the Chief Executive Officer and President and
Chief Operating Officer, respectively, of Response and each of its five
wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Management believes that the Agreement and bankruptcy filing will allow
Response to either recapitalize or sell its business with the oversight of
the Bankruptcy Court. "The

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Chapter 11 reorganization will enable the Company to conduct its business in
the ordinary course, including the provisions of its services to more than
40,000 subscribers, while it attempts to restructure its debt and emerge from
Chapter 11 as a reorganized viable entity. It is our goal to utilize the
strengths of the Company's resources, as well as the continued financial
support by the Company's outside lenders to move the Company forward," said
Robert Rosenfeld, newly appointed CEO. Response has secured post-petition
financing to support its operations and to evaluate alternative strategies
that may maximize the value of its business. Response is currently in
discussions to retain an investment banker to assist in evaluating
alternative restructuring strategies.

This news release contains forward-looking statements which are based on
Response's expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties,
certain of which are beyond Response's control. Actual results could vary
materially from expected results due to a variety of factors, including but not
limited to the success of Response's continuing efforts to reorganize,
Response's ability to sell its assets, the time and costs required to
reorganize, the general performance of the economy, and other factors applicable
to Response and its business referred to in the Securities and Exchange
Commission filings of Response, particularly its Annual Reports on Form 10-K and
Quarterly Reports on 10-Q.

Response is in the business of supplying personal emergency response monitoring
services to customers, including without limitation, supplying emergency
response systems and monitoring services to such customers.

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