It's a bitter irony: at the moment when someone has his or her greatest need for medical care, he or she is unlikely to be able to assist medical personnel in providing that care. That's why it's essential that your medical history be available even if you are incapacitated.

Most emergency medical providers suggest that you provide brief details on a card in your wallet, and make a more detailed medical history available through your emergency contacts. Below, you'll find a list of the information employees will need to include on a wallet card, and in a detailed medical history available through their closest family members or friends.

Wallet Card

On a card in your wallet, you should include:

• Your full name, address, date of birth, home phone number and cell phone number
• The name and phone number of your primary care physician, and any important specialists (such as a cardiologist, oncologist, or endocrinologist)
• The names, home phone numbers, and cell phone numbers of two emergency contacts who have access to your complete medical history and any other important documents, such as a living will or medical power of attorney, that you have completed. Be sure to identify these as emergency contacts.
• Your current medical conditions or diseases (for example: diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure)
• A list of the drugs you take, including nonprescription supplements, their dosages, and how frequently you take them
• Your blood type
• Any known allergies (food, bee stings, medicines)

Medical History

Your complete medical history should include all of the information above, plus

• Names and contact information for your dentist, optometrist, and other specialists you did not include on your wallet card.
• Health insurance information
• A list of hospitalizations and surgeries
• A family medical history—medical conditions that were diagnosed in your mother and father
• The date of your last tetanus shot
• The date of your most recent physical





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