Do you know your iPhone can serve as your medical ID and call emergency contacts if you’re incapacitated? Lots of folks add “ICE” entries to their contacts. I find this unnecessary and potentially confusing.

If you create a contact entry that you name “ICE #1,” for example, the person calling it in an emergency won’t know the name of the person they’re calling. That could be a challenge for both parties.

Imagine how much easier the conversation would go when the caller knows the name and relationship of the emergency contact. Health to the rescue!

Health App

Ever open the Health app on your iPhone? Inside you’ll find physical activity, general health statistics, and the ability to access and store medical records. You can also store a medical ID with basic health information useful to an emergency provider.

Medical ID

Open Health. In iOS 12 and earlier, tap Medical ID at the bottom. In iOS 13 and later, tap your profile picture at the top and then choose Medical ID.

When you edit your ID, you can list medical conditions, notes, allergies, and medications. You can also identify your blood type and sign up as an organ donor. Other details come from your medical profile.

Emergency Contacts

Additionally, you can add emergency contacts. You’ll select someone already in your Contacts and specify which phone number to use to reach them. Make sure to enable Emergency Access at the top.

Then, when your iPhone is locked, someone who can’t unlock your phone can tap Emergency on the passcode entry screen. This reveals a special Emergency Call screen, and the ability to show the owner’s medical ID and call any emergency contacts you identified.

iOS 13 adds a lot of functionality to Health beyond what was available previously. I’m not recommending this update quite yet, but after version 13.2 comes out, I expect the system will be reliable enough and worthwhile to install.