The purpose of a medical id is to alert paramedics and EMT's to a patient's specific medical or allergic condition at the point in time when they're about to administer emergency treatment. It's certainly critical for persons whose illnesses might render them unable to speak to wear a medical id bracelet or medical alert pendant, but anyone involved in a traumatic incident like a car crash could be in a state of unconsciousness when help arrives. The goal is for the patient to receive proper treatment without delay, and to help insure that she won't receive a medication that she's allergic to. It's commonly said that a medical id speaks for you when you're unable to speak.
One of our most frequently asked question is "What should I engrave on my medical Id." Hopefully this will help answer some of your questions but please know we are available for any specific questions.
It is important to remember that the more lines of engraving and the more letters per line, the SMALLER the engraving will be.
The most important thing to think about is what do you want to tell a medic, medical professional, EMT, School Nurse, Teacher, or caregiver if you are not available in the event of an emergency.
Your Doctor Should help you determine what you should engrave on your medical id alert jewelry. If you need help please ask your doctor or contact us and we will try to help with the best of our ability.
Child's Name
There are two thoughts on having a child's name on their medical alert bracelet. I personally think that for small children it should be somewhere on the medical tag or bracelet. During a very frightening experience in the ER, or allergic reaction, calling a child by their name will help to calm them. Some are concerned that a potential child predator would use this information to lure your child. Honestly, if they are close enough to read the bracelet then they are probably already in danger. Please know that which ever decision you make will be the correct one for you and your family.
Some Engraving Tips and Examples
First and/or Last Name
Medical Condition
Allergies
Emergency Contact #1
Emergency Contact #2
JOHN DOE
ASTHMA
PEANUT ALLERGY
CARRIES EPI PEN
Call 911
JANE DOE
DIABETES TYPE 1
INSULIN DEPENDENT
CONTACT NUMBER
JOHN DOE
MULTIPLE
ALLERGIES
FOR FULL LIST
SEE WALLET CARD
JOHN SMITH
AUTISTIC
NON VERBAL
CONTACT NUMBERS
We also have a lot of families with children that have varying degrees of autism. This is the one case where we recommend putting an address down. Often children with autism are found just around the corner or down the street and can either be easily returned home, or a parent can quickly be reached to aid in the child`s return home. In addition, please include whether or not the child is verbal.
Some Common Medical Abbreviations
There are a number of standard medical abbreviations that can be used to save room (see below). Most of these are international in scope and acceptance, but not all. Pay close attention to the use of upper and lower case letters in the abbreviation. Extraneous words should be left out if possible. For example, it's not necessary to engrave 'Taking Coumadin'. Just the word Coumadin is sufficient. And, rather than engraving 'Allergic to Penicillin', just say 'No Penicillin'. The same is true for food allergies. If you're allergic to nuts, just say 'No Nuts'. If you want to say that the patient has no allergies whatsoever, that can be abbreviated 'NKA'. 'No procedures in left arm' can be abbreviated as 'No Proc's L Arm'.
Some Medical abbreviations: Penicillin= PCN
Allergy = ALGY
Aortic Valve Replacement = AVR
Blood Pressure = BP
High Blood Pressure = HBP
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary DISEASE = COPD
Congestive Heart Failure = CHF
Deep Vein Thrombosis = DVT
Epinephrine Pen = EPI-PEN
History = HX
Do Not Resuscitate = DNR
No Known Allergies = NKA
Diabetic Ketoacidosis = DKA
Hypertension = HTN
Key Components
There are four pieces of information that generally need to be engraved on a medical id alert bracelet: diagnosis or condition, allergies (if any), patient's name, and emergency contact. There are also things that aren't needed, such as the patient's address (unless they have dementia) and social security number.
Personal Information
Most people prefer to have personal information out of sight, so it's most common to have the patient's diagnosis and allergies engraved on the front of their ID bracelet, and their name and emergency contact on the back. (note: although not all medical id providers offer two-sided engraving, most medical id alert bracelets can be engraved front and back, and that provides more room for engraving).
