This Android Feature Could Save Your Life In An Emergency
It's not at all an exaggeration to say that medical ID bracelets save lives. If you were to be incapacitated while in need of emergency medical care, and you had a condition that influences what constitutes proper medical care, then to have something that points first responders and potentially emergency room physicians in the right direction would be of utmost importance. This can cover everything from allergies (particularly to foods and medications), epilepsy, and diabetes to autism and dementia.
However, this assurance requires taking the step of buying such a bracelet and wearing it everywhere. Not everyone is going to do that, particularly if they don't think that their particular medical conditions warrant that extra step. But you never know what medical information is going to be important in an emergency, so having some kind of quick reference for first responders can potentially save anyone's life.
Google seemingly had this in mind when they crafted a way for you to leave key medical information on your phone that first responders can access – a virtual medical ID bracelet stored on your phone. Let's take a look at how you can set that up, what information it lets you include, how emergency medical personnel can access it, and the potential downsides of using the feature.
How to add your emergency medical information on Android
A quick caveat before we get into how to set this up: There is no secret code that grants paramedics and emergency room staff access to whatever medical information you store on your phone using this feature. Anyone who knows about this feature can find that information if they have access to your phone. Basically, you need to consider whatever you enter just as visible as it would be if you were wearing it on a bracelet, or had a card with the information in your wallet. You need to take it as seriously as the other Android privacy settings.
Also: If you have Android 12 or lower, then you need to grab the Personal Safety app from the Google Play Store before you can go forward. With that out of the way, here's how you add your emergency medical information:
- Open the Settings app.
- Scroll down to Safety & Emergency and tap that option.
- Depending on what kind of Android phone you have, there will be an option named Medical Info or Open Personal Safety or words to that effect. Tap that option.
- Fill out whichever fields you want emergency personnel to be able to find out about from checking your phone.
- Tap Save.
That's it. For someone to access that emergency medical info, it's even simpler:
- Tap the power button to wake the phone.
- Swipe up on the lock screen.
- Tap Emergency > View Emergency Info.
If you're comfortable with using this option and have a medical condition that your doctors would need to know about in an emergency, then it's well worth exploring.