your iphone has features that can save your life, but you have to turn them on
from making it easy for first responders to access your medical information to sending your location to emergency contacts, your phone has tools to get you help fast.
3 minute read
if you own an iphone, you have technology that could potentially save your life. getty
you’ve probably seen them dozens of times and may even wear one yourself: a medical bracelet. medical bracelets are used to inform first responders of any medical issues you may have that could be relevant in the event of an emergency where you become unconscious or unable communicate the information yourself. well, just like much of the rest of the world, this concept has become digitized and if you own an iphone, you have technology that could potentially save your life.
through the health app on your iphone, you can access the little-known medical id function that allows you to input important information that can be accessed easily by first responders. if an emergency occurs, responders don’t even need a to know your password, pattern or use your facial id to access your medical info as it can all be viewed from the lock screen of your iphone.
what information can you add to your medical id?
within the medical id function, you can add your name, birthdate and whether you are an organ donor. subsequent sections include medical conditions, medical notes, allergies and reactions, medications, weight, height and primary language. below those fields is a section where you can add emergency contacts. you can even add a photo..
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once you input all the appropriate medical information, there is a button at the bottom of the screen that prompts you to allow you info to be shared from the lock screen. once this is enabled, emergency personnel will be able to tap on the “emergency” button on your lock screen, and then again on the medical id button without having to unlock your phone. they can then either call 9-1-1 or one of your emergency contacts loaded into the app if needed.
you can access a step-by-step guide to set up the health app and medical id here.
technology is changing the way we respond to emergencies
though medical id has been around for a few iterations of the apple iphone software ios (you need at least ios 8 to be able to access it), the technology is still new to first responders.
a few years ago, a news team based in san diego interviewed the director of operations for amr, a large ambulance, disaster response and medical transportation company, who didn’t know the technology existed. the head of emergency medical services for san diego fire rescue said the same.
but the medical id function isn’t the only new tech that could help save someone’s life.
there are already countless example of the apple emergency sos feature coming to the rescue of someone in need, including an 85-year-old ottawa man who had a fall that left him unresponsive in november of last year.
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even apple watches can save a life
according to an ottawa police services instagram post, after the man’s apple watch detected the fall, “an automated message with coordinates came into an ottawa police services police communicator. she used them to get an address. the open line through the watch enabled her to hear breathing and a dog barking. she dug some more and got the name of the homeowner, providing all of the information to officers,”
after a fall is detected by the watch, it prompts you to click “i’m okay” on the watch screen. if this button isn’t tapped and no movements are detected, the watch calls 911 after one minute.the firstcall pendant — which is worn around the neck or strapped to the wrist and has a help button— uses similar technology for fall detection.
a british snowboarder’s life was saved by his iphone just a few weeks ago with another little-known function of the apple device. the man, 41-year-old tim blakey, was snowboarding in the swiss alps and fell into a hidden crevasse at 10,000 feet above sea level. although he landed on a snow bridge which prevented him from dropping further, blakey was stuck five metres below the surface.
he then used the emergency sos feature on his iphone — where you click the on/off button on the side of the phone five times — to send an alert to emergency contacts with his exact location. rescue crews were notified, and he was airlifted to safety shortly after. blakey had just three per cent battery life remaining on his phone when he sent the alert.
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nick beare is a toronto-based writer.
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