This nurse’s iPhone tip is one all moms need to know

Recently, I had to fill out a form that designated an emergency contact for my son. The paper was safely filed away and will hopefully never have to be referenced. But it did get me thinking about the other times people may need to know who to call in the case I’m incapacitated.

In the past, I always assumed the “favorites” on my phone could do the trick—but how are people supposed to get passed my passcode in order to see those?

One nurse who’s seen that play out too many times discovered solution that was right under our fingertips this whole time: You can add your Medical ID to your iPhone, which can be then be viewed by medical responders without a passcode.

“I see many patients come in and we have had no way of knowing who they are or how to contact their next of kin or their medical history,” emergency room nurse Julia Thompson said in a viral Facebook post.

She went on to explain iPhone users can set up their Medical ID through the preloaded Health app. The information can include everything from an emergency contact to date of birth to medical conditions and even blood type. (This article does a great job of explaining ICE options for Android, Windows or BlackBerry users.)

As simple as the “hack” may seem, it’s one that I—and apparently many others—weren’t aware of. In the two years since Thompson publicly posted the message to Facebook, it’s been shared more than 160 thousand times.

Of course, this information is helpful for anyone. But for moms who may be unable to speak for themselves and their children, it’s absolutely vital.

Even taking the time to consider an emergency situation is enough to raise any mom’s blood pressure—but I think we can all agree that taking steps ahead of time that could help in a moment of crisis is worthwhile. In addition to designating emergency contacts in our minds, let’s also take this moment to designate them in our phones.