How to Set Up Emergency Contacts and Medical ID

Choose contacts

• Use people who have agreed to be listed.
• Include a relationship label.
• Keep their numbers current.
• Avoid listing someone who is usually unreachable.

Add useful medical information

• Major conditions relevant in an emergency
• Serious allergies
• Current critical medicines
• Blood type only if known reliably
• Communication or accessibility needs

Platform setup

On iPhone, use Medical ID in the Health app and enable lock-screen visibility if desired. On Android, use Safety & emergency or the manufacturer’s emergency-information settings; paths differ by model.

Verify safely

Lock the phone and confirm the emergency-information screen can be reached without the passcode. Do not place an emergency call. Consider the privacy trade-off because lock-screen information may be visible to anyone holding the phone.

Ask contacts to prepare too

Tell each listed contact that they have been added, what information responders may receive and what practical help you expect. An emergency contact who is unaware of the role may not answer or may not know what to do.

Balance usefulness with lock-screen privacy

Add only information that could change immediate care or help responders contact the right person. Because selected details may be visible without the passcode, avoid unnecessary identifiers and full medical histories.

• Ask each contact for consent and explain the role.
• Use current numbers and a clear relationship label.
• Include serious allergies, critical medicines and relevant conditions concisely.
• Lock the phone and verify exactly what a helper can see without placing a call.

Review the information after medication, diagnosis, relationship or number changes. An outdated contact or medicine list can be worse than a short accurate one.