ICE " in case of emergency " apps worth it ? - Page 2

Hi,

I can speak from an EMS perspective and tell you that we do not bother looking at a patient's cell phone. If the patient is sick enough that they cannot make the call themselves, then their emergency contact call is the least of our worries. If they are awake and confused we still do not bother with the cell phone since that could be looked apon as a violation of their privacy, especially if it is drug or psychiatric related. I cannot speak as to whether or not hte PD will make any phone calls, I doubt it, since usually we take valuables such as a phone to the hoospital. As an ER RN I do not remember ever using the ICE in someones phone to make a notification.


Happy

I wouldn't bother with putting that stuff in your phone. We don't really expect to find that in a phone and generally if your not talking because you are acutely and severely ill the benifits of giving you a medication that you MAY be allergic too far outway the risks.

It kills me when I see people put their blood type down for us in their wallet or whatever else. We do not use patient provided blood type to give you blood products! I understand this would not be common knowledge for most people to know....

Happy

I have 18 years in EMS and I have never opened someone's phone or wallet. If you have an allergy, medical condition, etc. the only place we check is for a medic alert necklace or bracelet. I have on occasion had an unconscious person with a service dog and I do check for a pouch on the collar for emergency info but I know that not all of my fellow paramedics at my job do that.

I gotta agre with everyone that works EMS. No one looks in your phone. If there is more than one person in a car the cell phones are usually spread all around. Plus all phones operate differently and I would never take the time to look for stuff in your phone. Save your money and just put a piece of paper with your emergency data on it in your wallet.

A Road ID bracelet is better. Google it.

As a paramedic with an EMS system: Medic-alert or similar bracelet, preferably on the left wrist (since most ambulances in the US tend to be set up for the majority of patient care on the left side of the patient). Pretty hard to miss it that way. I don't care what's engraved on it... I will read it, whether its an allergy, medical condition, or emergency contact. I may not be able to make the phone call to your contact while caring for you, but I *will* let the receiving nurse know about it.

Like the others, I have *never*, nor ever intend to look through someone's wallet, phone, or dig around in their pants or purse. If it's an emergency, I don't have time to deal with that, and also, I don't want to accept the risks of a needle stick from one of our "recreational drug users" who carries their "stuff" in a pocket. I had one sweet-appearing lil' ol' lady tuck away a particular item in her bra that made my head spin, lol! Only saw it because of the need for a 12-lead ECG and sure enough, there it was! Wow!

Just my two pennies worth. ;-)

alot of new phones list the ICE contacts in RED, not sure if paramedics would take the time to try and find an app and open it on a smart phone