How To Set Up Your Health Profile On Your iPhone.
Gone are the days when you had to walk around with a bulky wallet full of banknotes, social security cards, driver’s licenses, credit cards, membership cards, and other essential IDs.
With your iPhone, you can pay for purchases, parking, utility bills, buy airtime, surf the web, and more using mobile payment apps. He is everywhere with you and even sits next to you all night.
The best part is that he can take care of you too. During emergencies, which happen when you least expect it, emergency services will want to know who you are, and you may not be able to talk or even direct them to your own information.
With Apple Health built into iOS, you can be prepared for these and similar emergencies by logging your urgent health information on your iPhone so that healthcare providers can easily find your information.
Once you’ve set up your health profile, you can relax in the knowledge that any important health and family information is just a few taps away.
What is Apple Health app?
What is Apple Health?
Apple Health is the one-stop shop for all of your digital health data, including weight, sleep, chronic illness, and a host of other health-related activities.
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The app has an important security feature called Medical ID, which acts like a virtual medical record that can inform emergency personnel about you. If you are familiar with Recommended Practice for Emergencies (ICE), you already know that listing important contact information on your phone helps you get in touch with your family during an emergency.
Medical ID is an enhanced version of ICE that contains vital medical information that paramedics can use to deliver the most appropriate treatment, making it easier to save your life.
You can save the following information on your medical ID, which can be viewed from the lock screen of your iPhone at the touch of a button:
- Your name and date of birth (with an Apple ID photo).
- Known diseases, allergies and reactions.
- Any medication you are currently taking.
- Relevant medical records related to your health condition.
- Weight and height.
- Blood type.
- Contact information for emergency or immediate family members.
Not all healthcare professionals are aware of this feature, but given that it was added to the iPhone in 2014 along with iOS 8, it’s likely that most healthcare professionals have become more aware of it in recent years.
You may be concerned that all of this personal medical data cannot be limited to emergency personnel only, as anyone who has access to your iPhone can find your medical ID if they want.
While there is no hard and fast solution to this, someone who is not looking for such information is unlikely to find it because they will not unlock the iPhone itself. However, if you want to take advantage of this feature, you will have to complete a trade.
Remember, your Medical ID on your iPhone does not replace having a written copy of your medical information in your pocket or wallet at all times. Chances are, in an emergency, the first aider doesn’t know how to check your phone, and the phones can drain your battery and shut down when you need it most.
A medical passport is a useful security feature, but you should use it mostly as a backup.
Setting up a health profile on iPhone
Set up your health profile on your iPhone
The Medical ID is configured through the Health app, so your iPhone must be at least iOS 8 to use this feature.
- First, launch the Health app on your iPhone ( if you’re not sure where to find it, swipe left on the home screen and type “ Apple Health” in the search engine at the top. Tap on it to open).
- Click “Medical ID” in the lower right corner of the screen. You can also go to Contacts, click on your name, and then click on Create Medical Identity at the bottom.
The app will detect and fill in your information based on your contact card. By default, it will be empty with only your name and date of birth, if you have provided this information in your iOS contacts.
- Click Edit.
- Before adding any information, enable the Show When Locked option on this screen, otherwise your Medical ID will not appear on the lock screen and will not be available when needed.
- Add, remove, or modify your information with the privacy implications of what you share. Your name, date of birth, and Apple ID photo can be used to identify you.
- Scroll down to the very bottom and complete the Organ Donor section, which indicates if you are an organ donor.
- What follows is the “Emergency Contacts” section, where you can provide the contact details of your next of kin, if you have not already done so.
- Click Add Emergency Contact and select next of kin from your iPhone contact list to add their details to your Medical ID. Make sure they are already in your contacts on iPhone.
- Click Done in the upper right corner of the screen to save your changes and exit the Health app.
- Check your lock screen to see what your medical passport looks like and how the first responder can access it. To do this, press the button on the main screen and then press “Ambulance” at the bottom.
A numeric keypad will appear from which you can call emergency services, and below you will see a red medical ID number. Click on it to open a medical certificate.
Note. If Touch ID is enabled on your iPhone, open the Medical ID screen with another finger; otherwise, it will continue to unlock the phone.
Your assigned emergency contacts are also listed below the screen, so whoever is viewing your health profile simply needs to tap on the contact’s name to instantly call that person on your phone.
When you are finished reviewing your medical ID information, click Finish.
Remember to back up your health data and keep your health information up to date.
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