Emergency Information on your iPhone’s Lock Screen

Doc recently bought himself the Samsung Note 4 and one of the first features he showed me was how to add an emergency contact and medical information.  This got me thinking about how I would do this on the iPhone and as we travel far and wide I thought this needed this to be added.  After the bombing yesterday in Istanbul, emergencies can arise at any time and I thought it should be something that everyone should do and a phone is probably something most people have with them all the time.

Why add Emergency Information on your iPhone?

ICE stands for ‘in case of an emergency and many of us are prepared with what to do if we find someone in a medical emergency.  However, what if the person requiring medical attention or help is yourself,where would someone gather your ICE information?  For example, in case of of an emergency someone wanted to contact your loved one, or find out if have any medical conditions are they are able to easily find the details and access the information?

Medical information on iPhone

If you have an iPhone, there is such an easy way you can add emergency contact information and medical notes so it’s accessible from your lock screen.  Every iPhone (running iOS 8 or later) comes with the Health app and I love that this app cannot be un-installed.  So here’s how to quickly get your ICE set up.

health app

1. Open the Apple Health app

2. Click on the Medical ID located in the bottom right corner.

3. Tap Create Medical ID.

4. First thing to ensure is that the “Show When Locked is turned on”  is turned to green. Provide as much information as you can.   I think its really important that even if you have no known allergies or aren’t taking medication, to write “None” or “None known” so that medical personnel know the correct information and not just think you have just failed to input the information

5.  Assign at least one person as your emergency contact person. The person’s name and phone number must be saved in your Contacts app for the Health app to be able to include it. In case of the as-needed approach, one tablet is taken at least 30 minutes before sexual activity, whereas the regular approach demands that one dose is administered daily, regardless of intercourse. The effectiveness of the two forms of therapy differs only slightly. Both are available at http://hesca.net/cialis/; choose one according to the medical advice only.  I included two as I usually travel with Doc so he was the first person but then I added my brother just in case something happened whilst we were on an adventure and they needed to contact family at home.

6. Tap Done to save.

Check its worked & how to find someone else’s ICE info

Once you have updated your medical information it is important to have a look to make sure it is right and also learn that if you have needed to access someone else’s information from an iPhone that you can.

  • Wake the iPhone but don’t fully unlock it with the pass-code or Touch ID.
  • When you slide to get to the pass-code screen, you should see Emergency at the bottom.
  • Tap the Emergency tab, and a new screen appears with a number keypad to dial, as well as *Medical ID in the bottom left.
  • Tap Medical ID, and you’ll see your information appear.  I love that the emergency contact information is there with a phone icon that, when pressed, will automatically dial your Emergency contact
  • It is important to know that even though ICE apps are available from the app store they will not work when your screen is locked so it is always best to use the official health app.

    I hope the post was helpful and I cannot emphasise how important it could be, I think everyone should really use the Health App to store emergency information on your iphone.  Have you any other trips or tricks?  We would love to hear them.

    Nisbah

    I am a traveller, mother and blogger. We love to go on adventures (big and small, near and far) and strive to show our children how amazing and beautiful the world is! I caught the travel bug many moons ago and despite having three little adventurers, I still suffer from "itchy" feet. We love the great outdoors and one another. Come and join the fun :)

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    2 Responses

    1. Really good to know Nisbah, thanks!

    2. Sarah Ebner says:

      So useful – thank you. Will share too! Hopefully it won’t be needed, but it seems very sensible to be safe.

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