Friday, April 12, 2013

Medical Identy Bottom Line

Medical Ids
We would appreciate your comments on your experience and recommendations regarding medical id alert jewelry items in general i.e., medical alert bracelets, id alert necklaces, medical charms or other id products.

Also your suggestions of items you would like to see to help you with keeping your medical information, similar to our Free Emergency Medical ID Wallet Cards  on MedIDs.com website.


Medical Identity - The Bottom Line

Alert and Inform the First Responders.

In the advent of an emergency and you cannot speak, medics or other first responders are trained to look on your wrist or neck for a medical id tag that boldly displays the international recognized emergency emblem logo.

Help Them Help You.

If you ask your family physician what's the most important information that's needed in an emergency where nothing is known about you, he or she will probably say,

1. Any chronic medical condition such as Diabetes,  Seizures, etc.
2. Any medication that you cannot take because of allergic reactions.
3. Any high risk medication you are taking, Blood Thinners, Steroids, etc.
4. Persons to contact in case of an emergency. ICE Contacts

Bottom Line

Wear a Medical ID Alert tag on wrist or necklace chain to ALERT!

Keep an Up To Date list of your medications, conditions, allergies to INFORM!

Keep It Simple

Engrave your medical condition, allergy, high risk meds,  on the id bracelet/necklace pendant and also include  the words "SEE WALLET CARD" on the medical id tag.

ALERTING first responders of your medical needs and INFORMING by telling them where to find the medical information they will need to help you.  Just that simple.

What type of medical id is best? The type you plug into a computer for medical history? An 800 phone number medical service the ER doctor can call? (More comments later)

All is well and good, but I'll put my money on the first line of defense with a Bold, Visible, Durable id bracelet or necklace, one that's comfortable and can be worn 24/7, along with my wallet card placed next to my drivers license.  I also personally like to be "discrete" with my personal med info until it's needed by engraving such data on the back side of bracelet tag. The large red medical symbol alone will alert and some add the wording "SEE BACK" which the medics will do anyway.

"What if I was aboard the flight that recently crashed in San Francisco?  For effective triage to work in an emergency of that magnitude, number of people involved, etc., I would want instant info available."

The advantage of the wallet id med card, it can be updated as needed as your medications and medical conditions change, as they frequently do. This service is Free at, http://medids.com/free-id.php.

More on these newer styles and types of  medical ID.

I heard of a case* EMS Responder  did not even recognize the bracelet a patient was wearing as being a "Medical ID Bracelet" because the particular design of the bracelet was unusual, no medical emblem. The company making that bracelet failed in keeping physicians informed on its product. I get a lot of mixed responses about the use of USB computer ids, and on the 1-800 membership id services. The use of these products does take time to phone or connect to obtain your medical information, which is good for later use.  Keeping it simple; Instant information that could save my life!  Appreciate your comments.

Keep it simple.

There are styles of ids that kids, as well as adults are more likely to wear and will actually enjoy wearing, ones that still provides the primary function, they ALERT.  Fashionable beads, wraps, leather and other materials have spiced-up the ladies bracelet collections.

* For any information system to work properly, that system has to be up-dated often







Advice on the importance of medical alert bracelets and what specific types of medical IDs are recommended by a Hospital ER Nurse. Also advise on what information to engrave on a emergency medical id bracelet. What should my bracelet say regarding wording, etc.?

Discussion board comments allnurses.com/ where nurses answer questions regarding medical ids.