How to Set Up Medical ID on Your iPhone

[MacRumors]

Medical ID is a built-in feature of your iPhone's Health app that gives ambulance crews and other emergency first responders fast access to potentially life-saving information about any allergies or medical conditions you have, even if your iPhone is locked.

Even if you don't suffer from any health conditions, it's still worth enabling Medical ID, because it can also provide other vital information about you to emergency services, such as your blood type and who to contact in an emergency. This article shows you how to set up Medical ID in iOS 11.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: How to Set Up Medical ID on Your iPhone

 

[allenvanhellen]

It’s not intuitive at all to access the medical ID on an iPhone 10.

 

[kemperman]

As a Paramedic, I can confidently say, NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE DO THIS. If you are unconscious and you have an iPhone, the first thing I will do when trying to ascertain a history, is find out if you have the medical ID set up. It needs to be something you can't skip during setup if Apple are serious about their health ambitions

 

[danny842003]

Not sure paramedics seeing your blood type on your phone is going to do anything.
We used to write it on our kit in Afghanistan but were later told we would get the generic type (o-) until a test could be done as they wouldn’t trust it to be right.

 

[SoundJudgment]

I see that 'Resting Heart Rate' pic at 49 bpm and I am going... "Gaaaah! 49? Really?? Is that person Super-fit or what?"
[doublepost=1521121399][/doublepost]

Not sure paramedics seeing your blood type on your phone is going to do anything.
We used to write it on our kit in Afghanistan but were later told we would get the generic type (o-) until a test could be done as they wouldn’t trust it to be right.

Yeah, what they need is a 'Verification' stamp over the listed Blood Type, but we are nowhere near that ready.

 

[Weaselboy]

As a Paramedic, I can confidently say, NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE DO THIS. If you are unconscious and you have an iPhone, the first thing I will do when trying to ascertain a history, is find out if you have the medical ID set up. It needs to be something you can't skip during setup if Apple are serious about their health ambitions

I'm curious, of the iPhones you have checked like this, what percentage have the Medical ID information?

 

[Saipher]

Not sure paramedics seeing your blood type on your phone is going to do anything.
We used to write it on our kit in Afghanistan but were later told we would get the generic type (o-) until a test could be done as they wouldn’t trust it to be right.

I could be wrong but I believe the universal donor blood type is O+ (NOT O-).

 

[CrystalQuest76]

When this feature was added to the iOS i immediately entered my info and convinced my family and friends to do the same.
I also told them to not enter their real birthday (too easy for a thief to use that information). I suggested they enter a date that was close to their age. I also suggest that they opt out of familytreenow.com.

 

[RonRN18]

I could be wrong but I believe the universal donor blood type is O+ (NOT O-).

Generally, it is O Negative in the civilian world. From what I've heard, the military uses O Positive, as it is more common and the risks of an Rh reaction is not as risky for men, rather than fertile women and men (historically) are more likely going to be the recipients in the military... a factor that may change with more and more women being in forward locations.

When I was working as an emergency nurse in a trauma center, we would use O Negative for emergencies with no time to crossmatch. By knowing the blood type in advance, we can possibly reduce the time to crossmatch, but we still crossmatch before administering blood. I haven't observed the process, but they essentially mix patient blood with donor blood in the lab and look for reactions before releasing the unit to be administered.

When I have donated blood, I let them know that my blood type is AB Negative. This is one of the rarest blood types (there are rarer types but most people don't know about them). When I was donating blood during the height of the battles in Afganistan and Iraq, the nurses in the mobile donation bus called for a courier to rush my blood and the blood of another AB Negative donor in the bus at the same time, saying it would be in a cargo plane and probably in the Middle East in about 24 hours (we're an hour away from Travis AFB). Despite the military using O Positive for unmatched, they still prefer to give crossmatched blood if available.

 

[kohlson]

Do yourself, and your loved ones, a favor. Do this with them. Make sure they use a picture so that ID information can be matched to the right person it situations so warranted. Tell them this replaces In Case of Emergency (ICE) which no longer applies. And tell the to not get so crazy about making this information "public" - when was the last time their phone was out of their possession (other than at home...).

 

[danny842003]

I see that 'Resting Heart Rate' pic at 49 bpm and I am going... "Gaaaah! 49? Really?? Is that person Super-fit or what?"
[doublepost=1521121399][/doublepost]
Yeah, what they need is a 'Verification' stamp over the listed Blood Type, but we are nowhere near that ready.

I imagine paramedics are only going to carry the generic type anyway. Would make more sense to carry 20 bags of generic than a couple of each. Although I’m no expert
[doublepost=1521162044][/doublepost]

I see that 'Resting Heart Rate' pic at 49 bpm and I am going... "Gaaaah! 49? Really?? Is that person Super-fit or what?"
[doublepost=1521121399][/doublepost]
Yeah, what they need is a 'Verification' stamp over the listed Blood Type, but we are nowhere near that ready.

I imagine paramedics are only going to carry the generic type anyway. Would make more sense to carry 20 bags of generic than a couple of each. Although I’m no expert

 

[RootBeerMan]

Glad to see this posted. I frankly had no idea it even existed. It was easy to set up and I did it immediately. Now to get everyone else in the family on board!

 

[kemperman]

So knowing Blood type is not very useful in the pre hospital arena but knowing any allergies can be very useful. Most Critical care (HEMS) services carry O- for reasons outlined above concerning fertile women

 

[SurajP]

Thanks Tim for this guide! My dad wasn’t able to set up Medical ID on his phone. Once I read this post and preferred my Dad, and he has set Medical ID on his iPhone 7. So now I worry free about my Dad’s health.

 

[kshgrandma]

Medical ID is a built-in feature of your iPhone's Health app that gives ambulance crews and other emergency first responders fast access to potentially life-saving information about any allergies or medical conditions you have, even if your iPhone is locked.

Even if you don't suffer from any health conditions, it's still worth enabling Medical ID, because it can also provide other vital information about you to emergency services, such as your blood type and who to contact in an emergency. This article shows you how to set up Medical ID in iOS 11.


Click here to read more...

Article Link: How to Set Up Medical ID on Your iPhone

[doublepost=1546990864][/doublepost]I would like it if they could build into it a way to print your information. I'm older and if I go to a doctor I would like to print this out instead of filling out all the forms. I went looking for a possible way to do this and nothing but a lot of people who would also like this feature. Wonder if they will ever do it and is there a place I can voice my opinion to Mac. Other wise I love the app.