How To Find Your Patient’s Emergency Contacts On An iPhone

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information and ICE Contacts On An iPhone  

As emergency physicians, nurses, paramedics, police officers and other first responders know, there’s nothing worse than staring down at a critically ill patient who can’t answer of your questions.  Who can’t tell you who they are, what medications they’re taking or one thing about their medical history. 

Or can they?  What if your patient had something in their pocket that could tell you all the critical information you need to save their life?   

They do. 

It’s their iPhone. 

But how do you find all that information, especially if they password protect their phone? It’s a lot easier than you think! 

Here’s how to do it. 

What Am I Looking For? 

You’re looking for their Medical ID or their ICE/Emergency Contacts. 

Pick up your patient’s phone and look at the screen.  You might have to click the round home button or power button to wake it up.  If the phone is off, just hold the power button for a few seconds to turn it on.

Does the phone screen look like picture 1, 2 or 3 below? 

#1 Password Protected With Medical ID 

Most new iPhones have an emergency link called Medical ID, which displays the owner’s medical information and emergency contacts, even if the phone is password protected. 

Locate Medical Information & Emergency Contacts 

Tap the word EMERGENCY on the lower left side of the screen. Then on the next screen, tap MEDICAL ID.  

This will open Medical ID.

Not only will you be able to see any medical history or information that your patient has entered, but you’ll be able to see their ICE/Emergency Contacts at the bottom of the Medical ID screen.

Locate Patient’s Name And Contact Information

Didn’t find anything helpful?  Let’s try and find your patient’s name and contact information.

Look at the screen, hold down the home button and say the following words in this order.

“Who does this iPhone belong to?” 

Siri should respond with your patient’s name and any basic contact information that he or she entered on the phone. 

Locate Patient’s Next Of Kin 

If you weren’t able to find the information you need, here are a few ideas that might help.  

#2 Password Protected iPhone Without Medical ID

Locate Medical Information  

If you see a password screen but don’t see the word EMERGENCY, the iPhone is a little older than most.  It won’t have Medical ID, but it might still have an ICE Contact.  

Locate ICE/Emergency Contacts 

Just press and hold down the  Main Home Button — the big round button on the bottom of the phone — to access Siri.  Then say the following words in this order. 

“Siri, Contacts ICE”.    

If the phone has an ICE contact, Siri should display it for you.

Locate Patient’s Name And Contact Information 

If Siri doesn’t bring anything up, press and hold down the  Main Home Button, and say the following words in this order. 

“Who does this iPhone belong to?” 

Siri should respond with your patient’s name and any basic contact information the he or she entered on the phone. 

Locate Patient’s Next Of Kin 

If you weren’t able to find the information you need, here are a few ideas that might help.  

#3 Not Password Protected

Locate Medical Information 

If the phone isn’t password protected, all you have to do is look for Medical ID or through the phone’s Contacts yourself.  

The quickest way to find it, is to ask Siri.  Swipe the arrow near the bottom of the screen from left to right, to open the home screen. 

Look at the screen and say the following words in this order:  

“Hey Siri, open Medical ID”.  

If Siri responds, check the Medical ID for the information you need.

If nothing happens, Siri probably isn’t switched on.  But you can still find the Medical ID by finding and opening the Apple Health App. 

Locate and click on the App’s Icon.  It’s the one with the Heart (SEE BELOW) and then click on Medical ID. 

Not only will you be able to see any medical history or information that your patient has entered, but you’ll be able to see their ICE/Emergency Contacts at the bottom of the Medical ID screen.

Locate ICE/Emergency Contacts 

Nothing helpful in the Medical ID?  

Time to look at the phone’s Contacts to see if you can find your patient’s ICE contacts or the name of their spouse, relatives or close friends. 

Tap the Phone icon and then tap on Contacts. 

The first contact on the list is usually the owner of the phone, so be sure to look there if you need to find your patient’s name or personal contact information.

Then scroll the rest of the phone/contacts to try and locate your patient’s spouse, parents, relatives or close friends.  

Locate Patient’s Next Of Kin 

If you weren’t able to find the information you need, here are a few ideas that might help.  

How To Find Medical ID On An Apple Watch 

Password Protected 

Locate Medical Information & Emergency Contacts 

Pick up the watch and look at the screen.  If it’s password protected, press and hold the side button (the crown on the watch) drag the Medical ID slider to the right.  

Once you open the Medical ID scroll to the bottom (by turning the side button/crown) to read the information.  Your patient’s emergency Contact should be listed towards the bottom of the Medical ID. 

To call a contact, touch the contact’s name from the list to call them.  If their iPhone isn’t nearby, you’ll have to call the contact number from another phone.   

Not Password Protected 

Locate Medical Information 

If the Apple Watch isn’t password protected, look at the screen and say the following words in this order:  

“Hey Siri, open Medical ID”.  

Locate ICE/Emergency Contacts 

Nothing helpful in the Medical ID?  Time to look at the phone’s Contacts to see if you can find your patient’s ICE Contacts or the name of their spouse, relatives or close friends. 

On the Home screen find and tap the Phone app.  

Now tap Contacts.  To look through the contacts, turning the side button/crown to scroll them. 

If you’re a healthcare professional or a first responder…

Remember these instructions the next time you encounter an unconscious patient with an iPhone. 

While you’re here, take a moment to check out  How To Put An ICE Contact On Your iPhone, or How To Put And ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy to learn how to set up a fully loaded, life saving ICE Contact on your own phone in two minutes or less.  Want to download the iPhone ICE Contact instructions later?  Just click here and save them to your computer.

And don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on your spouse’s and kid’s phones too, along with each other’s contact information, so you can get in touch with each other quickly and easily.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

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The Two Minute ICE Contact

What if I told you that you could put an ICE Contact on your iPhone with everything it needs to have in it to save your life, in 2 MINUTES FLAT?

Would you grab your phone and go for it?  Of course you would!  In fact, even if you already have an ICE Contact on your iPhone, I guarantee that you’re probably missing a few key things.

And with the way the world has been the last few years — remember Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Maria and the California Ranch, Camp, Thomas and Carr wildfires — it’s more important than ever!   Having an ICE contact is an awesome way keep your family safe and connected no matter WHAT is happening around you. 

Whether you have an iPhone 6, iPhone 7 or a brand new iPhone X or XS Max, here is a quick and easy way to put a basic ICE Contact on your phone in just a few minutes. 

Before You Begin…

Do you password lock your phone?  If so, you’ll also need to set up the Medical ID on your iPhone.  It’s the only way that a hospital will be able to view your ICE Contact while you’re phone is locked. 

Once you’ve finished your ICEing your phone, set up the Medical ID on your phone, by clicking on the Health App (that’s the app with the heart that comes pre-loaded onto your phone).  Then attach your ICE Contact(s) to the Medical ID so they’ll be easy for an emergency room to spot.  If you need instructions, you can find them right here on the blog.

Grab your phone and let’s get started!

1.  Put the word ICE, all capitals, in the First Name field.

2.  Put your ICE Contact’s full name and relationship to you in the Company field.

3.  Type in all of your contact’s phone numbers.  EVERY one that you have for them

4. Type in all of your contact’s email addresses — again, every last one.

5. Type in all of your contact’s social media handles/user names.  You never know what will be working in an emergency.  Many people have reached loved ones on Facebook and Twitter, when cell phone and landline service was down.

6. Your own allergies, medications and medical history go in the notes section.  Even better capitalize the words ALLERGIES, MEDICATIONS etc to ensure that they’re seen.

7.  You can also add your physician’s names and phone numbers in the notes section and if you like, a link to your own medical history form.  If you don’t have one, you can borrow one of ours.

8.  Is your contact in different locations on different days?  Add that in the notes section as well.

9. Instead of their photo, add an ICE Contact Graphic to the contact to make it stand out.  Here are a few to choose from.

10.  And finally, never, ever put your social security number or insurance member number into your ICE Contact.  You may put the name of your insurance company and their customer service number in if you like, but as long as your emergency contact comes to the hospital and can provide that information, it’s probably not necessary.

And there you have it.  One fully loaded ICE Contact.  Two Minutes.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our other posts like How To Put An ICE Contact On Your iPhone, or How To ICE Your Samsung Galaxy to learn EVERYTHING you need to know about ICEing your phone. 

And while you’re feeling proactive, don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on your spouse’s and kid’s phones too, along with each other’s contact information.   If you’d rather download the information to take care of your phones later, you can download it right here.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

 

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

Did you know that your Android phone can save your life?

And it’s not just Androids like the  LG GS or Moto X4 but any kind of smartphone, including the iPhone X! The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency.  And the way to do that is with ICE.   By the way if you’d like to download these instructions, just click here for the PDF version.

What is ICE?

During Hurricane Katrina, so many people were injured, unconscious and separated from their families that emergency workers came up with the idea of putting an ICE – In Case Of Emergency – Contact in their cell phones.  Now, when a patient who is unconscious or unable to speak comes into the emergency room, hospitals worldwide check their smartphone for an ICE contact, to help them locate their next of kin. Everyone in your family should have an ICE contact in his or her smartphone.  In fact, they should have two just in case the first contact is unavailable.  If you have our book Ready, you should already have at least one ICE contact.  So let’s learn how to set one up on an Android Phone.

Before You Begin…

…you’d better decide who your ICE Contacts will be.  The first one of course will be your spouse, partner, best friend or close relative.  Someone that you want there with you at the hospital or, if need be, making decisions on your behalf.  But what if that person is also injured, or is out of town or forgot to charge their phone?  Why not choose one additional person to be an ICE Contact – someone very close to you, who you know will drop everything to race to your side and handle things until your significant other can be reached.

Let’s set up your first ICE Contact.

Touch the Contacts Icon on your phone to open up your Contacts.  Click on the plus sign + to add a new contact and touch the First Name Field.  Don’t put the name of your contact in this field, only the word ICE.  We’re doing this because most Android phones sort contacts by their first name by default.   You’ll want your contact to show up as ICE — not as your contact’s actual name.   

Next, touch the Last Name Field and enter your contact’s full name and relationship to you, ie. John Jones  Husband.  Now when someone looks at the contact, they’ll see  ICE along with your emergency contact’s full name.   Do the same thing for your second ICE contact – then call it ICE2.

Time To Make Your Phone Do Some Heavy Lifting…

The best thing about a smartphone is that you can put everything that you need to communicate, right inside this one contact.   Here’s the basic information you need to include: Put all the information you possibly can into your two ICE Contacts.  For example:

• Your emergency contact’s Main Number/Cell number/ Work number, Relationship to you

• Email Address & IM, Twitter and Facebook address (in case landlines are down  & you need to send an emergency message )

• Other info, for example, days that the contact is at a certain location

• Add extra fields if you need them.

• Use the Notes Section to list your Allergies, Current Medications or the Names & Numbers of your Physicians.

• Be sure to include every piece of information you can.   Why?  Because you never know what type of communication will or won’t be working.  For instance, after the Japan earthquake, many people were able to reach each other via Twitter or Facebook even though their landline phones and Wi-Fi weren’t working.

Adding And Using Fields

Like most smartphones, most Android phones let you change, add or create Fields inside the contact, so that you can customize it as much as you like.  To add fields to your contact, press and hold one of the Field Names (sometimes called Label) until the menu appears, then choose the field or label you want by checking the box next to it and clicking OK.

One great field to add is Relationship, to tell emergency personnel who your contact is to you. But what about information that doesn’t fit into a field on your phone?  That’s when you turn to your new best friend – the Notes section.   Notes holds quite a bit of information, so simply put the miscellaneous information you need to communicate, in there.

What Other Types of Information Should I Put In My ICE Contact? 

A list of Allergies, the Medications you’re currently taking, Names and Phone Numbers of your Healthcare Providers and contact information for your Insurance Company.  Just make sure you don’t put any member numbers, social security numbers or financial information in your phone.    Or, let’s say that two or three lines of Current Medications and Allergies isn’t enough.  Then why not create a medical history form for yourself and every member of the family, put it in a password protected online folder, and place the link to it in the Notes section of your ICE Contact.  This way a doctor can access your, your spouse’s or your kid’s basic medical history, while you’re en route to the hospital. 

If you don’t have your own Medical History Form, go ahead and download ours.  Just right click on the link and save it to your desktop.  And while you’re at it, you can put medical treatment release forms for your children in the folder as well, and place the links to those forms in their ICE contacts.  You can also put in links to a full list of contacts or emergency numbers, or links to your family’s evacuation plan and gathering locations, so that every member of your family always has all the information they need, right at their fingertips.

Let’s Make Sure No One Misses It!

Make your ICE contacts stand out by using the Add Photo function to upload a graphic like the ones on this page. You can make your own, or download ours free.  Right click this link then choose Save Target As, to add it to your desktop.  Save the graphic to the photos on your phone.  Open your ICE Contact, Touch the little photo icon, Choose Gallery, pick the graphic you want and Save.

What About The Rest of The Family?

Every family has one person who keeps everyone else organized.  And since you’re reading this post, something tells me it’s probably you!  If that’s the case, it’s up to you to ensure every member of your household not only has ICE Contacts set up on his or her phone, but that everyone’s phone contains all of the contact information for every other family member.  That way you’ll be able to get in touch with each other as quickly as possible in an emergency.  And don’t forget that you can always put an ICE Contact in your family’s iPod Touch or MP3 devices as well.  Just because you don’t have a phone with you while you’re running doesn’t mean you can’t stay safe!

What If Your Phone Is Password Locked?

I know what you’re thinking.   ICE contacts are great – as long as emergency personnel can actually see my ICE information.  But what if you lock your Android phone with a password?  Believe it or not, in many cities emergency workers aren’t allowed to break into a password protected mobile phone, even in an emergency.   Which means that having an ICE contact on a password protected phone is useless, right?   Wrong!

All you have to do is add your ICE information directly to your Lock Screen.  Then all an emergency worker has to do is glance at your phone to find your ICE information.  

Every Android is a little different, but here’s how you do it on a Samsung Galaxy:

Go into Settings and touch My Device and then Lock Screen.  Then touch Lock Screen Widgets.  Now on the very bottom of the menu you’ll see Owner Information.  Touch that and a window will appear.  Simply type in “ICE CONTACT” along with your contact’s name, phone number, your allergy or medical information – anything you would need an emergency room to know about you.   Then Check the Box and Choose Okay. 

Now your ICE information will appear right on your Lock Screen, no password needed.  Problem solved!

Turn Your Phone Into A Mobile Command Center

While you’re at it, you can even turn your phone into a Mobile Command Center.  Just store copies of your family’s medical history forms, emergency action plans, checklists and Evacuation Plan, right on your phone and those of each member of your immediate family.  And while you have them, don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on their phones as well, including along with each other’s contact information.   That way you can all get in touch with each other quickly in an emergency. 

Would you like to download these instructions for later?  Then click here to download the PDF version.  

And if there’s an iPhone lurking around your family be sure to stop by our post on Setting Up An ICE Contact on Your iPhone.  Do yourself a favor.  Take five minutes right now to set up your family’s ICE contacts.  That way your family will have all the information they need to stay safe and secure, no matter what the situation. 

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

You know you need one.  You know you want one.

But what in the world are you supposed to do if you want to carry an Emergency Wallet Card but don’t carry a wallet?  Or if you don’t carry one when you’re out jogging, running to the store or doing errands while at the office. 

Or with all the disasters that have been happening lately – like Hurricane Maria, Irma or California’s Thomas and Ranch wildfires – to have it with you just in case.

Glad you asked…    

Here are 20 OTHER places to put your Emergency Wallet Card.

1. Slip it into the opposite side of  your work ID.  That way you’ll even have it when you’re running across the street from your office to grab a coffee or a juice.

2. A wristlet, like the Sprigs Wrist Wallets  .  It fits securely around your wrist and features a zipper pocket inside big enough to hold a few dollars, a credit card, gym or Starbucks card and, you guessed it, your emergency card.

3. Your book bag.  Stash it in the inside zipper pocket.  If it has a little window pocket for your ID or your kid’s ID, even better.

4. Your briefcase

5. The opposite side of your business card holder

6. A conspicuous place on your car visor

7. Clipped to the zipper or pocket of your jacket

8. Your fanny pack — come on, we know you still have one

9. The zippered pouch in your purse

10. Your inside coat pocket

11. Inside your smartphone case

12. In your iPad/Tablet/PC Case

13. On the reverse side of your luggage tag

14. Medic Alert Jewelry  There’s a reason millions of kids had to wear it.  It works!

15. On your key chain

16. Take the information on your emergency wallet card and create ICE Contacts on your smartphone.  Whether you have an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Window’s Phone or just a plain cell phone, you’ll find easy instructions on ICEing any phone right here on the blog.

17. The pocket of your jogging shorts

18. A shoe wallet like the Keepa — A wallet like device that fits right onto the laces of your running shoes

19. On your Smart Watch — if you can put contacts on it then you can put an ICE Contact on too!

20. Tucked in with your credit cards

21. BONUS  For your little children, toddlers and infants — on an ICE belt in the car .  An ICE Belt holds little children’s emergency information so that emergency personnel can treat the child with her needs in mind even if the mom is unconscious after a car accident.

There you have it.  21 alternate locations for your emergency wallet card.  No more excuses!  And if you don’t have an emergency wallet card, you can borrow one of ours.

Here’s another tip.  If you want to make sure that your wallet card doesn’t get smeared or so dog-earred that it’s unreadable, laminate it before you put it in one of the places we mentioned above.

And while you’re here, be sure to check out our other posts like How To Put An ICE Contact On Your iPhone, or How To ICE Your Samsung Galaxy to learn everything you need to know about ICEing your phone.  And while you’re feeling proactive, don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on your spouse’s and kid’s phones too, along with each other’s contact information.   

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

How to put an ICE Contact on your Password Protected iPhone

Did you know that your iPhone can save your life?

And it’s not just iPhone but any kind of smartphone, like the Samsung Galaxy, LG or even the Windows Phone. The secret is letting your phone do the talking for you in an emergency.  And the way to do that is with ICE.

But…  And this is a BIG but…

If you usually password protect your phone, emergency room personnel might not be able to see your ICE information.  Which means that having an ICE contact on a password protected phone is useless, right?  

Wrong!

So how do you make your locked iPhone emergency room friendly? 

That depends on your iPhone’s operating system.

Here’s how to do it.

iPhone 6 and above (7, 8, 9 SE, including iPhone X, using iOS 8 & higher)

For the newest iPhones, all you have to do is set up your Medical ID along with your ICE Contact.

Medical ID, a part of the Apple Health App, not only gives you a place to put your emergency medical information, but it puts a link to that information right on the front of your phone, where it can be viewed by a hospital even if your phone is password locked.  You can find instructions on setting up your ICE contacts and Medical ID up the right way here on our blog. 

The Health App is easy to find.  It’s the one with the heart on it.  Clicking on it takes you to the Dashboard page of the Health App.  On the bottom right of the screen, you’ll see the Medical ID icon.  Click on it. 

 On the Medical ID screen, click on the red link that says Create Medical ID.

The most important part of the Medical ID screen is at the top.  It’s the On/Off Switch that shows a link to your emergency information on the home screen of your phone even when it’s password-locked.  Before you do anything else, switch this to the ON position.  It will turn green like the graphic below.

Now, even if your phone is password locked all an emergency room has to do is click on the Emergency link on your screen, to grab your medical and ICE Contact information.

Now that it’s visible, make sure your ICE Contact and Medical ID have all of the information they need to keep you and everyone you love, safe and sound.  You’ll find everything you need to do it right here on our blog.  

If You Don’t Password Protect Your Phone

If you regularly leave your phone unlocked, it’s even easier.  All an emergency room has to do is click on your Apple Health App or they can do it the fun way, by asking Siri for it.

First you need to set up your ICE Contact correctly.  Just put the word ICE in the Name field of your contact.  Nothing else but ICE.  Then put your contacts name and relationship in the Company Field.  See what that looks like below.  All the ER needs to do is pick up your phone so that they can see the screen and say these words:

“Hey Siri, find ICE Contact”.

Siri will bring up any ICE Contacts that you have.   The only way this will work is if the word ICE is in the Name field and the name in the Company field.  Otherwise your phone won’t sort the contact correctly.

Older Pre-iOS 8 iPhones (Without Medical ID/Apple Health App)

If you still have an older (pre iOS 8 or pre iPhone 6) iPhone AND password lock your phone, set up your ICE Contact exactly the same way as above. 

An emergency room can open an ICE Contact on an older iPhone by Pressing and Holding Down the Main Home Key on your phone to access Siri.  Once they do, all they need to do is say,

“Siri, Contacts ICE”.   

And there you have it.  Complete access to all your emergency information even on a password locked iPhone!

Remember, if someone is looking for your ICE Contact, you may be unconscious and unable to communicate medical information for yourself.  In fact, if you do tend to password lock your phone, you should definitely put vital medical information like allergies or chronic illnesses into the Notes Section of your contact as well, just in case the ICE contact is the only contact on your phone that medical personnel can access.

If you’re a healthcare professional or a first responder…

Remember these instructions the next time you encounter an unconscious patient with a locked iPhone. 

You never know.  That one little question might just uncover all of the information you need to save a life!

While you’re here, be sure to check out our other posts like How To Put An ICE Contact On Your iPhone, or How To ICE Your Samsung Galaxy to learn everything you need to know about ICEing your phone.  And while you’re feeling proactive, don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on your spouse’s and kid’s phones too, along with each other’s contact information.   

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone 6

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

There’s one question about ICE Contacts that we get from iPhone users all the time that’s so important, we decided to take care of it in its own blog post.  

Should I even bother putting an ICE Contact on my iPhone if I use a password to lock my phone?

Great question!  

After all, ICE contacts are great – as long as emergency personnel can actually SEE your ICE information.  But what if you lock your iPhone with a password? 

Believe it or not, in many cities emergency workers aren’t allowed to break into a password protected mobile phone, even in an emergency.  Which means that having an ICE contact on a password protected phone is useless, right?  

Wrong!

All you have to do is make your locked iPhone emergency room friendly.

The way to do it, depends on your iPhone’s operating system.

Here’s how to do it.

iPhone 6 and above (7, 8, 9 SE, including iPhone X, using iOS 8 & higher)

For the newest iPhones, all you have to do is set up your Medical ID along with your ICE Contact.

Medical ID, a part of the Apple Health App, not only gives you a place to put your emergency medical information, but it puts a link to that information right on the front of your phone, where it can be viewed by a hospital even if your phone is password locked.  You can find instructions on setting up your ICE contacts and Medical ID up the right way here on our blog. 

The Health App is easy to find.  It’s the one with the heart on it.  Clicking on it takes you to the Dashboard page of the Health App.  On the bottom right of the screen, you’ll see the Medical ID icon.  Click on it. 

 On the Medical ID screen, click on the red link that says Create Medical ID.

The most important part of the Medical ID screen is at the top.  It’s the On/Off Switch that shows a link to your emergency information on the home screen of your phone even when it’s password-locked.  Before you do anything else, switch this to the ON position.  It will turn green like the graphic below.

Now, even if your phone is password locked all an emergency room has to do is click on the Emergency link on your screen, to grab your medical and ICE Contact information.

Now that it’s visible, make sure your ICE Contact and Medical ID have all of the information they need to keep you and everyone you love, safe and sound.  You’ll find everything you need to do it right here on our blog.  

If You Don’t Password Protect Your Phone

If you regularly leave your phone unlocked, it’s even easier.  All an emergency room has to do is click on your Apple Health App or they can do it the fun way, by asking Siri for it.

First you need to set up your ICE Contact correctly.  Just put the word ICE in the Name field of your contact.  Nothing else but ICE.  Then put your contacts name and relationship in the Company Field.  See what that looks like below.  All the ER needs to do is pick up your phone so that they can see the screen and say these words:

“Hey Siri, find ICE Contact”.

Siri will bring up any ICE Contacts that you have.   The only way this will work is if the word ICE is in the Name field and the name in the Company field.  Otherwise your phone won’t sort the contact correctly.

Older Pre-iOS 8 iPhones (Without Medical ID/Apple Health App)

If you still have an older (pre iOS 8 or pre iPhone 6) iPhone AND password lock your phone, set up your ICE Contact exactly the same way as above. 

An emergency room can open an ICE Contact on an older iPhone by Pressing and Holding Down the Main Home Key on your phone to access Siri.  Once they do, all they need to do is say,

“Siri, Contacts ICE”.   

And there you have it.  Complete access to all your emergency information even on a password locked iPhone!

Remember, if someone is looking for your ICE Contact, you may be unconscious and unable to communicate medical information for yourself.  In fact, if you do tend to password lock your phone, you should definitely put vital medical information like allergies or chronic illnesses into the Notes Section of your contact as well, just in case the ICE contact is the only contact on your phone that medical personnel can access.

If you’re a healthcare professional or a first responder…

Remember these instructions the next time you encounter an unconscious patient with a locked iPhone. 

You never know.  That one little question might just uncover all of the information you need to save a life!

While you’re here, take a moment to check out  How To Put An ICE Contact On Your iPhone, to learn how to set up a fully loaded, life saving ICE Contact in two minutes or less.

Need directions for Samsung Galaxies?  Got you covered! How To ICE Your Samsung Galaxy.

And while you’re feeling proactive, don’t forget to put ICE Contacts on your spouse’s and kid’s phones too, along with each other’s contact information.   

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

If you and your family had to evacuate your home because of a tornado, an earthquake or wildfire, where would you go? 

There’s a lot to consider.   “Location A is close enough to home to check on the house if we had to, but what if the entire city is affected?   But if we went to Location B, how would I ever get to work?”

Is your head hurting yet?

Not to worry.  A –  That’s exactly why we want you to go through this exercise now and not when a firefighter is knocking at the door. And B –  That’s also why we suggest that you choose three locations and opt for the one that fits your needs if an emergency ever rears its ugly head.

A great #EvacuationPlan has two objectives:  

1) To figure out the best location for your evacuation

2) To help you gather your family and get you safely to your location

First we’ll walk you through choosing your locations and sketching out a plan.  Once the plans are set, put the details on your family’s emergency wallet cards.    If you want, you can also give a card to the person you chose to be your out-of-area contact.  And if you don’t have emergency wallet cards, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered!

How To Choose The Perfect Locations

Location One:  A location Near Your Home, that you can use if you cannot stay in your home, but the area around it is still safe and secure.

Location Two:  A location Outside of Your Immediate Area, that you can use if you cannot stay in your area, but the cities around you are still safe and secure.

Location Three:  A location Out of State, if your own state is uninhabitable.

With three locations you’ll be prepared no matter what the emergency.  You’ll just go down your list, choose the location you need, and be on your way.  You and the members of your immediate family will know where to gather and what to do, even if everyone is away from home in the middle of a busy day.

If you’d like to have a copy of these directions for later, download the PDF Version of How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan.

The Right Location

Before you try to zero in on a perfect location, come up with as many different locations as you can that you and your family would be able to use for evacuation.

As you consider each location, think about:

• The needs of the people traveling with you

• How you’ll get there (car, bus, plane)

• Any pets that will be traveling with you

Does It Have What You Need?

Once you’re pretty certain you have the right places, consider whether this location has what you and your family would actually need.

• For instance if would need to stay in that location for two or three weeks, would it be close enough to the stores or services your family might need, like pharmacies, clothing, banks and doctors?

• Would you be able to get to work from that location, or are you able to work from home?

• Does it have the furniture and supplies necessary for two or three weeks?

We Have A Winner!  Make That Three Winners!

No location is perfect, so if you came up with one or two things your location would be lacking, be sure to note them on your Family Evacuation Plan, so that you can take care of it before you  get there.

The Staging Area

Now that you’ve chosen your locations, choose two places for you and your family to gather during an emergency, so that you can travel to your evacuation location together.  One place should be near your home or work and the other farther from your home in case your area is completely inaccessible.

Put the addresses and phone numbers of these two meeting places on your family’s emergency cards.

Appoint An Out Of Town Contact

It’s also a good idea to appoint an out of town contact to help you while your family deals with the aftermath of an emergency.

Even though you might not be able to call people right in your own area after an emergency, you can often call long distance.  A distant friend can be a touch point for the entire family until communication is restored.

Once you choose an out of town relative or friend as a contact, check with them to make sure that they’re willing to help.  If so, give them a copy of your emergency plan and wallet card, so they’ll be able to help, if the need ever arises.

Creating Your Plan

Grab a copy of our Family Evacuation Plan, or if you have our book Get Your Stuff Together, you’ll find a copy in the back of the book.  Here are a few questions to answer before you draft your plan:

• Who Is Evacuating With You?

• Who Will Do What?

• Temporary Housing

• Transportation Plans/Travel Information

• Pet Information

• Out of State and Local Contacts

• Contact Information For Everyone Who Will Be Evacuating With You As Well As Your Out of Town Contact.

  • Their cell phone/school/office numbers

  • Email addresses

  • Twitter and Facebook account names.

  • Any other information that can put you in immediate touch with them, even if one or two modes of communication are down.

Making Your Plan Easy To Access

Review the plans with your spouse and adult family members.  Once they’re set, put that information on your family’s emergency wallet cards.  If you don’t already have your own, click the link to download ours.   It might be a good idea to give a card to the person you chose to be your out of area contact, too.

And while you’re at it, store a copy in your family’s cell phones as well, in case an emergency occurs while you’re away from home.

Print, scan or make three copies of the Evacuation Plan, and store it in at least three secure, damage-proof locations.   That way if one or two of the locations are inaccessible, you’ll still be able to grab the information you need.

If your Plan is on paper, you can place it:

• In your watertight Plastic Evacuation Bin.  Only place the documents that you actually need in this bin.  If you’ll also have access to copies of your vital documents in your safe deposit box, then don’t take anything with you that you would worry about if it were lost.

• In a safe deposit box or water/fireproof safe in your own city.

• With your emergency contacts or with relatives in the city where you’ll be evacuating.

If your Plan is on computer, you can place it:

• On a password-protected flash drive or portable hard drive, and take them with you during evacuation on a key ring or in your evacuation bin.

• On a password-protected online file repository or even the file directory of your family’s personal web site.  This way if you need a copy of your information or forms quickly, you can retrieve them from any Internet-enabled computer.

• Save a link to the Plan on you and your family’s smartphones, so that you can all instantly access and use the plan whenever you need it.

Anything Else To Add?

Is there any other information you need, to deal with a medical emergency while evacuated or away from home?  If so, scan or make copies of that information and place it in the same folder as your completed medical history forms.

If you need help creating Medical History Forms for your family, take a look at our blog post or download a copy of our How-To Sheet.

And if you’d like a copy of these instructions for later, click here to download the PDF Version.

Have Fun Getting Your Stuff Together! We’ll talk later…

Keep The Stuff You Love Safe

How To Save Your Treasured Voice Mail Messages

How To Save Your Home Movies And Videos

How To Archive Your Digital Photos

How To Archive Your Print Photos

How To Make A Home Inventory

How To Get Your Financial Life In Order

How To Preserve Your Family History

How To Back Up Your Facebook Friends List

Turn Your Smartphone Into A Mobile Command Center

How To Backup Your Music, MP3s And Vinyl Albums

How To Access Your Money No Matter Where You Are

Keep The People You Love Safe

How To Keep Your Medical History At Your Fingertips

How To Create A Family Evacuation Plan

How To Fill Out Your Child’s Emergency Contact Card

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up Your ICE Contacts

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your iPhone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone

How To Set Up An ICE Contact On Your Android Smartphone

How To Put An ICE Contact & Medical ID On Your Apple Watch

How To Set Up Your Medical ID & ICE Contact On The iPhone

How to put an ICE Contact on your Samsung Galaxy Lock Screen

Can I Put An ICE Contact On A Password Protected iPhone?

How To Find Your Patient’s Medical Information & ICE Contacts On An iPhone.

Cómo Colocar Un En Caso de Contacto de Emergencia En Su Teléfono Celular

Why Are ICE Contacts So Important?

Create An ICE Contact In 2 Minutes

The Two Things You should NEVER put in your ICE Contact

Don’t Carry A Wallet? Here are 20 Places To Put Your Emergency Wallet Card

How To Get Ready For…

How To Earthquake Proof Your Bedroom

How To Get Ready For A Tornado

How To Get Ready For A Tsunami

The Best Apps For Tornado Season

How To Get Ready For A Hurricane

How To Get Ready For A Wildfire

How to Get Ready For A Flood

How To Get Ready For An Earthquake