Law enforcement wants you to install Medical ID on your phone
Multiple law enforcement agencies are urging residents to install Medical ID onto your phone.
Brookhaven Police representative Officer Nino tells FOX 5 police tend to unconscious people every day and having basic information on your phone could save your life.
Doctors here at Grady Memorial Hospital say this potentially life saving tool isn’t as popular as it should be. To set up Medical ID on an iPhone:
- Go to settings.
- Scroll down to “SOS.”
- Click “health” options.
Android users “must visit the play store and download a free app like Medical ID. NOTE to Android users, please make sure to include an emergency contact name and telephone number in the notes field,” Marietta Police posted to Facebook.
This allows users to insert important— potentially life saving— information into their phone.
First responders access that information from your locked device by pressing and holding certain buttons--depending on your phone.
“Most of us are carrying these devices now, some may leave the house without their wallet and may not have an id on them,” Dr. Matthew Wheatley said.
If you don’t have an iPhone or Android with Med id capabilities, doctors will keep searching for a wallet or identification—and they’ll always put aid above all.
“We’re taught to assess patient first. Make sure they can breathe, have a pulse,” Dr. Wheatley said.
Brookhaven police say this is especially helpful for those who can’t help themselves, like the elderly or those who struggle with their memory.
He suggests inputting this information for your loved ones.