iOS 13.5 Beta Adds Option to Share Medical ID Info During Emergency Calls

In addition to introducing Face ID changes for mask usage and the Exposure Notification API, iOS 13.5 adds a new feature for sharing Medical ID information.

medicalid1
Today's iOS 13.5 beta prompts users to review their Medical ID settings when opening the Health app, introducing options to share Medical ID info during an emergency call and on the Lock screen.

Based on the text accompanying the feature, enabling the option sends Medical ID information to emergency dispatchers who answer an emergency call. Apple says it will provide emergency services personnel with key info like allergies, language, and medical conditions.

iPhone and Apple Watch can automatically send the information in your Medical ID to the dispatcher who answers your call.

This can speed up the process of getting the care you need.

This feature can be toggled on when adjusting medical settings after updating, as can the option to provide access to Medical ID even when an iPhone is locked.

These settings can be adjusted in the Health section of the Settings app by tapping on Medical ID and then the "Edit" option.

medicalid2
According to Apple, when the Medical ID sharing feature is enabled, a call or text to emergency services shares location and encrypted Medical ID info with Apple.

Apple uses location to determine whether Enhanced Emergency Data is supported in your area, and if so, the Medical ID info is forwarded to a partner for delivery to medical services.

If Emergency Calls & SOS in Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services is disabled, the feature does not work.

Related Forum: iOS 13

Popular Stories

iphone 16 display

iPhone 17's Scratch Resistant Anti-Reflective Display Coating Canceled

Monday April 28, 2025 12:48 pm PDT by
Apple may have canceled the super scratch resistant anti-reflective display coating that it planned to use for the iPhone 17 Pro models, according to a source with reliable information that spoke to MacRumors. Last spring, Weibo leaker Instant Digital suggested Apple was working on a new anti-reflective display layer that was more scratch resistant than the Ceramic Shield. We haven't heard...
apple watch ultra yellow

What's Next for the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3

Friday April 25, 2025 2:44 pm PDT by
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the Apple Watch, which launched on April 24, 2015. Yesterday, we recapped features rumored for the Apple Watch Series 11, but since 2015, the Apple Watch has also branched out into the Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch SE, so we thought we'd take a look at what's next for those product lines, too. 2025 Apple Watch Ultra 3 Apple didn't update the...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Reaches Key Milestone Ahead of Mass Production

Monday April 28, 2025 8:44 am PDT by
Apple has completed Engineering Validation Testing (EVT) for at least one iPhone 17 model, according to a paywalled preview of an upcoming DigiTimes report. iPhone 17 Air mockup based on rumored design The EVT stage involves Apple testing iPhone 17 prototypes to ensure the hardware works as expected. There are still DVT (Design Validation Test) and PVT (Production Validation Test) stages to...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

20th Anniversary iPhone Likely to Be Made in China Due to 'Extraordinarily Complex' Design

Monday April 28, 2025 4:29 am PDT by
Apple will likely manufacture its 20th anniversary iPhone models in China, despite broader efforts to shift production to India, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In 2027, Apple is planning a "major shake-up" for the iPhone lineup to mark two decades since the original model launched. Gurman's previous reporting indicates the company will introduce a foldable iPhone alongside a "bold"...
iPhone 17 Air Pastel Feature

iPhone 17 Air Launching Later This Year With These 16 New Features

Thursday April 24, 2025 8:24 am PDT by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the ultra-thin device. Overall, the iPhone 17 Air sounds like a mixed bag. While the device is expected to have an impressively thin and light design, rumors indicate it will have some compromises compared to iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 13 New Features

Wednesday April 23, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of April 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone ...
iPhone 17 Pro on Desk Feature

All iPhone 17 Models Again Rumored to Feature 12GB of RAM

Tuesday April 29, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
All upcoming iPhone 17 models will come equipped with 12GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence, according to the Weibo-based leaker Digital Chat Station. The claim from the Chinese leaker, who has sources within Apple's supply chain, comes a few days after industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will all be equipped with 12GB of RAM. ...

Top Rated Comments

konqerror Avatar
65 months ago
Pretty sure it's an enhancement to an existing service where your device sends its location through a company called RapidSOS.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nena.org/resource/resmgr/docs/Apple_Enhanced_Emergency_Dat.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapidSOS
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
supercoolmanchu Avatar
65 months ago
Apple really went overboard stupid on this one.

This cultivated social awareness mentality that they appeared to be getting high on... downside with following any mob reaction (or basically any recent social trend) is that mob’s are ruled by emotion not logic.

The actual underlined, dotted I’d and crossed T’s, preliminary research findings won’t happen at least until next year. At which point the hysteria and clutter in the data always gets cleared, as it does in any ‘disaster’, and likely everything being done will have been for naught. The government never does anything right in a disaster, and their prep is equally laughable with any hindsight.

Nobody has saved any lives here, let’s stop pretending that anybody deserves any medals for social distancing or locking themselves away. Because hiding out of disease fear is the single most selfish, ugly reaction a person could have in a crisis. Those people chose to sit in their caves, while the world crashed, hoping to better pick thru the scrapes after.

All Apple is doing is enabling a horrendously poor social reaction by trying to make a trendy tool to continue into the skid. Worse it’s useless wishy, washy pop-sci-ish bloat with the abuse potential outweighing any supposed benefit.

Tim Cook should be ashamed of himself. He is a horrible person ruining actual technical innovation for the sake of his ego. Worse, he’s a reactionary ninny who often gets it wrong, and wastes investor money on ******** causes purely for the upkeep of his trendy brand name, “I care” persona.

“If saving trees” or “feeling accepted” is a feature you are looking for in a tech product... I’m sorry, you are just superstitious looking for deep personal validation and spiritual significant from a hammer.

As an investor, I think it’s time Apple bottom lines on all of Tim’s pet issues, how much more expensive is the iPhone with the features inspired by Tim overreacting to watching MSNBC on his exerbike? Whatever the savings are, $2 or 10 cents from the price of an iPhone... worth it.

Like what does the Watch cost just without the Breath function? Take that in a second.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DougieS Avatar
65 months ago
Looks like this is USA only. Don’t have this option in UK.

also just noticed the following, looks like health records are due soon for UK. Can anyone confirm when this first appeared in iOS?

Attachment Image
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)