Here’s how to use Apple Health more effectively on your iPhone
One way to use your iPhone more effectively is by taking advantage of the somewhat hidden feature of Apple’s Health app. Among other functions common to health apps, Apple’s Health app allows users to create an emergency information card that is accessible from your phone’s lock screen — something police or first responders could use if need be.
What’s so great about it?
Apple’s Health offers a range of features that can get pretty complex if you choose to link a fitness tracker to the app. From tracking how many steps you take in a day to monitoring your heart rate, the app (pretty much) does it all.
However, one simple component — and perhaps one of the most important — that goes unnoticed inside the app is the “Medical ID” tab.
On the Medical ID tab, you have the option to fill out various health-related questions ranging from medical conditions and known allergies to medicine, blood type and emergency contacts.
Although it doesn’t let you add custom fields (yet), you can add additional information you would want someone to be aware of in an emergency situation under “Medical Notes.” For instance, if you have pets, this would be a good place to include a brief message along the lines of, “I have dogs home alone. If I become ill or injured, please ask my emergency contacts to tend to them.”
Beyond that, the key life-saving aspect on this tab is the ability to set this information to be viewed even if your phone is locked with a passcode.
What does this mean?
Hopefully you will never have a need for this feature, but just in case, in the event that you are unresponsive in an emergency situation, first responders can access the information from your phone’s lock screen.
Otherwise, assuming your phone is passcode locked, emergency responders wouldn’t be able to access your phone’s directory of contacts to locate family to notify them.
This feature allows your most crucial information to be available to emergency responders with no hassel.
How do I do it?
Apple’s Health app is included in its core apps and comes automatically installed on all new iPhones. However, you can get the app even if you don’t have the latest iPhone; just make sure your phone is up-to-date with the latest version of iOS.
Open the app, go to the fourth tab on the bottom — “Medical ID” — which is marked by a medical-alert symbol, and select the option in the upper-righthand corner to edit the data.
Before you begin filling in your information or even adding your photo, make sure you slide “Show When Locked” to green. This will allow your information to be accessed when your phone is locked.
After that, you can fill in as much or as little information as you choose, then hit save.
Testing the feature
To make sure your phone has saved the information you entered and everything is working properly, hit your phone’s lock button.
Once you’re looking at your passcode screen, scroll to the left as if you were going to type in your code. Instead, tap “Emergency” at the bottom of the screen.
Your phone screen will now show the emergency phone key pad to dial 911.
Underneath the dial pad, tap “Medical ID” at the bottom and your information should appear.
Contact Caitlin Lilly at clilly@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @caitiesmith