'Medical ID' Is The Safety Feature Everyone Should Install On Their iPhone
An emergency room doctor offers this simple piece of advice.
By Livia Gamble
January 31 2017
Locking your phone is a great way to keep busy bodies out, especially if it’s been misplaced. However, in the event of an emergency, a locked phone can be incredibly frustrating.
There’s a simple way parents can have their privacy but also allow medical professionals to access their details: set up your "Medical ID" on your iPhone.
In a Facebook post, Julia Thompson wrote shared the information which was then shared over 160,000 times.
“Working in a public hospital and seeing patients in ED all the time I see many patients come in and we have had no way of knowing who they are or how to contact their next of kin or their medical history! And their phones are locked,” she wrote.
She added: But many people don't realise that you and patients can set up something called a "Medical ID" on your iPhone if you have the health app (free with phone). I didn't even realise this when I got my own iPhone!
“This information can be accessed even while the phone is locked by clicking on the emergency options and can display things like name, DOB, emergency contacts, medical conditions and even blood type and donor status. You can even add notes.”
While the original post was shared in 2015, the information is still relevant. Simply open your health app and select the Medical ID tab and fill in the fields.
Now, in the event of an emergency, your next of kin and any other vital information, including your blood type, can accessed without knowing your passcode.
