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How to Add Emergency Medical Info to Your iOS 8 Lock Screen

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Apple’s new Health app that comes bundled with iOS 8 allows users to conveniently store all of their health-related information into one app with the help of other apps that record various bits of information about you. However, the Health app can also be used for emergency purposes and you can put important medical information on your lock screen in case of emergencies.

If you have a special medical condition, then most likely you carry around a piece of paper in your wallet or even a bracelet with important information on it. However, in the chance that you get yourself into an emergency and are unconscious, the Health app’s Medical ID feature can be used to give first responders some important information about you.

Medical ID allows you to list things like medical conditions, allergies, your weight and height, and even your emergency contacts. Setting this up and having it accessible from the lock screen can give first responders vital information about you if you’re not able to respond to questions.

The Health app aims at aggregating all of your health-related information from multiple apps into one single app that’s easy to view and navigate around. For instance, the Health app will collect my running data from Strava, as well as my blood pressure information from Qardio. The app puts all of this information into an easy-to-view format all in one convenient place.

iOS 8 Health Medical ID

It’s certainly an app that not everyone will use, as not everyone takes advantage of exercise apps and the like, but Health is a great addition to the iOS app family, and the Medical ID feature is something that many users could benefit from, even if they don’t actively use the Health app.

Here’s how to set up Medical ID in the Health app, which could save your life if you ever get into an emergency.

Setting Up Medical ID in iOS 8

Even if you don’t think you’ll regularly use the Health app in iOS 8, the Medical ID feature is something that you still may want to consider setting up.

Opening up the Health app and tapping on the Medical ID tab down in the bottom-right will open up the feature and allow you to set it up. You’ll see a short description of what Medical ID is and what it does.

From here, tap on Create Medical ID to get started.

At the top, there will be a toggle switch that will allow Medical ID to be accessed on the lock screen (Show When Locked). Turning this feature on will allow people to access your medical information even while the phone is locked. This can be a huge privacy concern, so be aware that the information you put in your Medical ID can be viewed by anyone if they want to see it.

iOS-8-Medical-ID

Below the toggle is where you’ll enter in your medical information. You can add your birthdate, as well any medical conditions that you have, along with any further notes about your medical conditions.

There’s also a section to list any allergies you may have and any medications you’re currently taking.

Further down there are sections to enter in emergency contacts, your blood type, weight, height, and whether or not you’re an organ donor.

Medical-ID

Once you have the pertinent information filled in, tap on Done in the upper-right corner to save it.

From now on, your Medical ID will be accessible from the lock screen by  tapping on Emergency in the lower-right corner and then tapping on Medical ID. From there, you’ll be able to view medical information for that user. Below is what a user’s Medical ID will look like when you access it from the lock screen.

Health-Medical-ID

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. MKG

    06/10/2015 at 10:56 am

    My “show when locked” is on and my Emergency/Medical ID has vanished from my lock screen?? I am not finding any way to get it back on there.

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