The biggest worry for every individual with special medical attention complications is to fail to get proper treatment based on their health history. It is always easier to get proper treatment after a clear study of an individual’s medical ID. However, since you never know when the attack incident might occur, it is always wise to set up a medical ID on your iPhone for scenarios that might threaten your life. Medical ID is an inbuilt feature in the Health app on your iPhone through which a first respondent or medical personnel, in case of a health emergency, can access your critical medical information. This information might include your allergies, medical conditions, medications, and people to contact in such a situation. The whole concept is to make such information very easy to find for those helping you in emergencies. To set up a medical ID on your iPhone;
Step 1: Launch the Health app on your iPhone. The app is available on all iPhones as a default app.
Step 2: If you are using the app for the first time, tap the Next button then fill in the required essential information as indicated on the “My Info” page including name, date of birth, sex, height, and weight. Once you are done filling in the information, hit the Continue tab. On the next page, you will be presented with an option to create a medial ID, tap on it then follow through with Step 5.
Step 3: If you have used the app, you will have a different interface. Once the Health app is launched, tap on the Medical ID tap in the bottom right corner of the home page.
Step 4: On the next page, tap on the Create Medical ID tab.
Step 5: On the Medical ID page, toggle the “Show when locked” feature to allow people to access your Medical ID when your iPhone is locked. Click on “Add Photo” to add an image that represents the Medial ID and also enter more medical information ranging from date of birth to medical conditions, medical Notes (like a preferred hospital), Allergies and reactions, Medications, blood type, organ donor, weight, and also add (or delete, add a relationship to) emergency contacts. After updating all fields, tap Done to complete the process and save your changes.
Quick Note: Additional features to look out for and turn during setup include; ‘Show when Locked’. This makes the Medical ID feature available on your iPhone lock screen and ‘Share during Emergency Call’ allows automatic sharing of your Medical ID with emergency services/responders once you send a text/make a call with your phone/Apple watch.
How to access Medical ID on iPhone
As a first respondent, if you happen to find a phone without a passcode, open the Health app to access the Medical ID and the desired info. For iPhones with passcodes, Touch, or Face ID, tap the Emergency button on the bottom left of the lock screen. Then, tap Medical ID to access the screen containing the desired medical data and emergency contacts which you can dial directly.
Tip: Much as everything about this feature is easy to set up and use, you have to weigh the risk of having your critical medical information and details easily accessible to the first respondents. This is likely to bring about identity theft concerns. Therefore, the feature can be temporarily disabled, and that way, the Medical ID button is removed from the Emergency lock screen.