Turn Your iPhone Into a Life Saving Device

If you are anything like me (meaning: “an average mom”) you have A LOT of important information and pictures stored in your phone. In order to safeguard our privacy, as well as protect our phones from grubby little toddler fingers, we take advantage of the latest iOS upgrades allowing us to lock the phone with a four digit pin number. In my article “8 Ways to Keep Your Family Safe When the Unexpected Happens” I recommend utilizing the “Medical ID” feature on your smart phone. The information stored in your “Medical ID” can be accessed when your phone is locked – pure genius! Take the time to enter your emergency and medical information, it turns your iPhone into a life saving device.

(I currently have an iPhone 6, so the screen prints I am sharing is from iOS 8.4.)

After reading my previous post, “The Unexpected Happened…” you may recall that the first responders were able to identify my unconscious dad by calling the number on his cell phone that had last left him voicemails.

But what if he had his screen locked? Then the phone would have been nothing more than a worthless paper weight to the emergency crew. Thankfully Apple thought of the “worst case scenario” and they developed their software accordingly. There is a little known feature on your iPhone that I urge you to take advantage of – TODAY.

ADD VITAL LIFE SAVING INFORMATION!
You can add an emergency contact, your medications, medical conditions, blood type, organ donor information and other health statistics that would be vital to first responders. It only takes a few minutes to set up, but I encourage you to do so today!

The feature is called the “Medical ID”

First locate the “Health” icon on your phone’s dashboard. It’s the white square with the red heart.

Click on the “Medical ID” on the bottom right hand side.This brings up a description of the “Medical ID” feature.

Complete this screen with as much, or as little information you care to share.

Personally, I added my “birthdate”, “medical conditions”, “allergies & reactions”, “medications”, “emergency contact” (my husband’s name and cell phone), “blood type”, “organ donor”, “weight” and “height”. I felt that was the most important information for my situation. You can also fill in various “medical notes”.

“Emergency Access” slide the button to select “Show When Locked” so the information can be viewed while the phone is locked.

Click “Done” when you have completed the screen to save the information.
Confirm that the information is now accessible by locking your phone. At the bottom left hand side below the key pad you will see the “*Medical ID” highlighted in red. Emergency crews have been trained to look for this information and it can truly be lifesaving when time is of the essence.

I realize that privacy is always a concern when we share information that could fall into the wrong hands. However, I only provided the information that might help save my life, but at the same time would be useless to any criminal who got ahold of my phone and information. Knowing which medications I am allergic to is much more valuable to medical professionals than it is to Mr. Phone Thief. In other words, using this great feature is a “calculated risk” that I am willing to take. I hope you are too.