Add ICE to Your Cell Phone

You depend on your cell phone for a lot of things - reaching your spouse at the grocery store, calling for directions when you get lost, keeping tabs on your kids or using it for long-distance calls. It may even be a source of comfort to know you have it for an emergency to call 911.

It can also be a lifeline in another sense - helping paramedics reach your loved ones if you are seriously injured, sick or even dead.

Like most people, you store your phone numbers on your cell - friends, acquaintances, spouses, co-workers and others. You know who everyone is, but a paramedic, doctor, police officer or nurse has no idea who to call. (Your spouse or significant other is likely to be stored in your phonebook by first name.)

A paramedic in Britain named Bob Brotchie created a simple system called ICE, short for "in case of emergency." The idea is for you to create an entry in your cell phone that you call "ICE." It can be "ICE - Mary" or "ICE - Jane." That will tell the paramedic or health care provider scrolling through your cell's phone book to contact this person and that person's name. ICE is a short, easy and universal way to find the information quickly. You could also use "ICE-1" or "ICE-Jane-1." The numeral tells the health care provider to call that person first.

The idea is just starting to take off in this country. Other systems are in place, such as the National Next of Kin Registry (NOKR), which is a free service to the public that stores your information in an electronic database that can be used by state and local emergency personnel. Not all states and agencies are using NOKR, however.

Here are some tips.

• Have contact information available in paper form, to keep in your wallet or purse as well. Batteries can do dead, and cell phones may be locked or not always be fully charged.
• Tell the person you have chosen that you have entered his or her name as an ICE contact on your cell phone and what this means.
• Give this person a list of people you would want notified and their phone numbers, including doctors you see regularly and even your place of work.
• Be sure your ICE person's number is easily reachable. You may want to use a cell phone number or work number in addition to his or her home number.
• Give a list of your medical conditions and medications to your ICE person.
• If you have an advance directive, give a copy to your ICE person. Be sure family members and your doctors have a copy as well. An advance directive tells everyone how much your doctors should do for you when you can't speak for yourself.

Related Articles Q&A: Advance Directives What Are Living Wills and Advance Directives? What Do You Know About CPR? First Aid for Common Emergencies

External Sources East Anglian Ambulance Service National Next of Kin Registry

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.

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