What belongs on the card
Blood type. Allergies, starting with medications (penicillin, sulfa, contrast dye), then foods and other reactions. Current conditions, in plain words: “Type 2 diabetes, AFib, pacemaker (2019).” The full medication list with doses, which ER doctors want most and rarely get. Doctors, with their specialty and phone number. The pharmacy. And a notes line for anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere: “hard of hearing in left ear,” “spare key with neighbor Carol.”
Leave off what doesn’t help fast: full medical history, insurance fine print (the member ID line is enough), and anything you wouldn’t want a stranger to read. Strangers will see this card. That’s the point of it.
Where responders look
The fridge door is the usual spot. EMS crews are trained to check it, and that’s why “File of Life” style magnets exist. A copy in the wallet, next to the ID, covers falls away from home. And every grown child who might get a middle-of-the-night call should have a copy, on paper or as a photo.
On the iPhone itself, set up Apple’s Medical ID (Health app → Medical ID → Show When Locked). Responders can see it from the lock screen without the passcode. Use both: the paper card for the kitchen, Medical ID for the pocket.
Keeping the card up to date
Most emergency cards are accurate the day they’re written and wrong within a year: a dose changes, a new prescription is added, a cardiologist retires. A card that lists last year’s medications can be worse than no card at all.
WellChime keeps one emergency card per person. Only that person can fill in or edit their card. Their family circle can view it and print a PDF with the current medication list. Print a fresh copy when details change; the card is never a public link.
However you make yours (WellChime, a document template, or a handwritten card), put an “updated on” date on it and print a new one whenever a medication changes. The date tells a responder whether to trust it.