Set Up Your Medical ID
If you’ve ever used Apple’s Health app, you’ve probably noticed a Medical ID section tucked away in there that allows you to fill in important medical information such as blood type, height, weight, allergies, medications, and other medical conditions.
However, there’s a lot more to this feature than simply providing a place for you to record these details for your own use. The Medical ID section can function as a digital card that can be viewed by others in an emergency, such as paramedics or other first responders, even if your phone is locked. To set up your Medical ID:
- Open the Health app on your iPhone
- Tap the Medical ID button in the bottom-right corner
- Tap Edit in the top-right corner.
- Fill in your health information, in much the same way as you would a contact card in the Contacts app. If you’re in the U.S., you can even sign up to be an organ donor within the app.
- Tap Done
Apple naturally allows privacy-conscious users to lock this information down if desired — simply toggle off the Show When Locked switch at the top — but we’d strongly recommend filling it out and making it available when your device is locked; if you have medical conditions or allergies that medical professionals should know about before administering treatment, this feature alone could save your life.
Accessing your Medical ID
Apple’s Medical ID feature is well-known among professional first responders, so many have been trained on how to bring up the Medical ID on an iPhone. However, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself and other friends and family members with the feature so you know what to do if you ever encounter someone else in trouble. To check for a Medical ID on a locked iPhone:
- From the lock screen, swipe to bring up the passcode entry screen
- Tap Emergency. This will bring up the emergency call screen.
- Tap Medical ID to display the users’ medical ID.
You can also access the Medical ID by holding down the side button (iPhone 7 or older) or side and volume buttons (iPhone 8/iPhone X or newer) for a few seconds. A Medical ID slider should appear below the swipe-to-power-off slider.
If no “Medical ID” button appears in either case, this means that the user either hasn’t set up their medical ID, or has chosen to disable it when their iPhone is locked.