Emergency Medical Information Sheet for Every Family Member
An emergency medical information sheet is one page per person that answers the questions responders and doctors ask first: which medicines, which allergies, which conditions and who to call. Here is what to include, a filled-in example, and where to keep copies.
Packing a bag too? Start with our free one-page 72-hour go-bag checklist.
What Is an Emergency Medical Information Sheet?
It is a short, plain summary of one person's health facts, written before anyone needs it. In an emergency, the person who is hurt or sick may be confused, unconscious or too shaken to remember a dose, and a babysitter may not know that a toddler is allergic to peanuts.
Ready.gov's page for people with disabilities advises keeping a list of your prescription medicines with your diagnosis, dosage, frequency, medical supply needs and allergies. The American Red Cross survival kit list includes copies of your medication list and medical information. An emergency medical information sheet is that list, done once for each person in the home, so an Emergency Medical Services (EMS) crew, an urgent care clinic or a relative can work from facts instead of guesses. It is not a medical record; it is a one-page head start.
What to Include on an Emergency Medical Information Form
Keep it to one page per person, in the same order for everyone, so a stranger can scan it quickly.
- Full name, date of birth and primary language, plus a recent photo for young children or anyone who may wander
- Medical conditions, such as diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, heart disease or dementia
- Every medicine with its dose and time, including over-the-counter (non-prescription) medicines and supplements
- Allergies to medicines, foods, latex or stings, what the reaction looks like, and where an epinephrine auto-injector or rescue inhaler is kept
- Medical devices, such as a pacemaker, an insulin pump, hearing aids or a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for sleep apnea
- Blood type, only if you actually know it from a test or a doctor
- Primary doctor, specialists, pharmacy and preferred hospital, with phone numbers
- Health insurance company, or a note saying where the card copy is
- Two emergency contacts, including one who lives out of the area
- Whether the person has an advance directive, such as a living will, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order or a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form, and exactly where the signed copy is
- The date you last updated the sheet
Skip the blank-page step. The Family Guard binder already has these fields on ready-made pages: a prescription inventory with a “for whom” column, a special needs page for devices and allergies, medical contacts and a Meds & Allergies pocket card for each person. It is a one-time $39 download.
A Filled-In Example for One Family Member
Here is what a finished sheet can look like. The person and details are made up; the medicines are an example, not medical advice.
- Name
- Walter “Walt” Kessling (fictional example)
- Date of birth
- March 3, 1948
- Conditions
- Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, mild hearing loss
- Medicines
- Metformin 500 milligrams (mg), twice a day with breakfast and dinner; lisinopril 10 mg, once each morning; low-dose aspirin 81 mg, once a day
- Allergies
- Penicillin (hives and swelling)
- Devices
- Hearing aids in both ears (charger on the kitchen counter); glucose meter in the blue pouch
- Blood type
- Not known
- Doctors and pharmacy
- Dr. A. Patel, family doctor, 555-0142; City Pharmacy, 555-0187
- Insurance
- Medicare plus a supplement plan; card copies in the go-bag documents pouch
- Emergency contacts
- Dana (daughter, lives here), 555-0110; Mark (son, out of state), 555-0163
- Advance directive
- Health care proxy and living will; copies in the fridge pouch, originals in the desk file
- Last updated
- October 2026
Sample Pages From the Family Guard Binder
A preview of two pages from our 38-page binder shows the medical format. The complete pages are ready to fill in when you get your copy.
File of Life and Vial of Life: How the Fridge Programs Work
Both keep an emergency medical information form at the refrigerator, which is easy to find in almost any home.
File of Life is often a bright red magnetic pocket holding a medical history, a medication list and emergency contacts. Local agencies hand them out: the Town of Concord, Massachusetts, offers a fridge version and a smaller wallet version free through its Council on Aging, and the City of Guelph, Ontario, offers a File of Life fridge magnet through its community paramedic program.
Vial of Life is described by Guelph as a list kept inside a medicine bottle in the refrigerator, with a magnet on the door telling responders to look there. The Vial of Life project's current kit is a medical information form you tape to the front of the refrigerator in a plastic bag, plus decals for the refrigerator and the front door.
Santa Clara County Fire Department in California uses a similar pouch, the Lifesaving Information for Emergencies (L.I.F.E.) File, with one form per person. It asks residents to put copies of advance directives, such as a DNR order or POLST form, in the pouch, because responders need the document itself to follow it. Thornton Fire in Colorado likewise notes that its File of Life form is not a valid DNR order.
Whether responders in your town look for a fridge pouch depends on local practice, so ask your fire department's non-emergency line or council on aging. Your sheet works in any of these holders.
Where to Keep Copies of Each Sheet
One copy in a drawer is not enough. Put copies where a helper would look first.
- On the fridge, in a clear sleeve or magnetic pocket, with a door decal if your local program uses one
- In your family emergency binder, with the rest of the household plan
- In each go-bag's waterproof documents pouch; our 72-hour go-bag checklist lists what else goes in
- In the car's glove box, folded with the insurance card
- With babysitters, grandparents and the school nurse
- In wallets and backpacks as a small card with critical medicines, allergies and one phone number
The Red Cross Make a Plan page says everyone should carry emergency contact information in writing. The Meds & Allergies pocket card in the Family Guard binder does that for medical facts; print the cards page once per person.
Add It to Your Phone, Too
Apple's Medical ID in the iPhone Health app can show allergies, conditions and emergency contacts on the Lock Screen without the passcode. On Android, Google's Personal Safety app can show blood type, allergies and medications when the phone is locked. Phones run out of battery, so treat this as a backup to paper.
Emergency Medical Forms for Kids, Babysitters and Older Parents
Children
Add a recent weight (many children's medicines are dosed by weight), the pediatrician, the school or daycare, and a calming tip that works. For complex medical needs, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) offer an Emergency Information Form families can complete and keep in their go-kit.
Babysitters and Grandparents
Leave the sheet on the fridge with your cell numbers, your home address (people forget it under stress) and the nearest urgent care. The sheet shares facts; it is not a signed medical consent form, which some parents also leave so a caregiver can approve treatment.
Older Parents
Ready.gov's older adults page suggests copying Medicaid, Medicare and other insurance cards, and making sure someone in your support network knows where supplies are kept and how to give medicine. Write the sheet together, in large print, and keep a copy at their home and at yours. Pets can get a line too: vet, medicines and microchip number.
Keeping the Sheet Current and Private
- Fill it in with pencil, as Concord's program recommends, because medicines and phone numbers change.
- Update a sheet the week a prescription or doctor changes, and review all sheets every six months, at the spring and fall clock changes.
- Ask each adult to check their own sheet, and keep a photo of it on their phone.
- Leave off Social Security numbers, account numbers and passwords, and skip the full medical history. Anyone in your kitchen can read a fridge sheet.
If the power goes out, refrigerated medicines and powered devices need their own plan. Our winter power outage checklist covers both.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should Be on an Emergency Medical Information Sheet?
Name and date of birth, medical conditions, every medicine with its dose and time, allergies and reactions, medical devices, doctors and pharmacy, health insurance, two emergency contacts, blood type if known, and whether there is an advance directive and where the signed copy is. Add the date you last updated it.
What Is the Difference Between File of Life and Vial of Life?
Both keep an emergency medical information form at the refrigerator. File of Life often uses a red magnetic pocket on the fridge, sometimes with a wallet version. Vial of Life is described as a list kept inside a container in the refrigerator; the Vial of Life project's current kit is a form taped to the fridge plus decals for the fridge and front door. Local agencies run their own versions.
Can I Put Emergency Medical Information on My Phone?
Yes. On an iPhone, set up Medical ID in the Health app and turn on Show When Locked. On Android, add medical information in the Personal Safety app and turn on Show when locked. Keep paper too, because a phone can be dead, lost or broken.
Is a Medical Information Sheet the Same as a Medical Consent Form for a Babysitter?
No. The sheet lists facts such as medicines, allergies and doctors. A medical consent or authorization form is a separate signed document that lets a caregiver approve treatment for your child. Ask your pediatrician what they accept.
Official Guidance and Sources Used on This Page
- People with Disabilities, Ready.gov (United States Federal Emergency Management Agency)
- Older Adults, Ready.gov
- Survival Kit Supplies, American Red Cross
- Make a Plan, American Red Cross
- Disaster Preparedness Resources for Families, American Academy of Pediatrics (Emergency Information Form)
- File of Life, Town of Concord, Massachusetts
- File of Life Fridge Magnet, City of Guelph
- L.I.F.E. File, Santa Clara County Fire Department
- File of Life Fact Sheet, City of Thornton, Colorado (PDF)
- Vial of Life (program website)
- Set Up Your Medical ID, Apple Support · Get Help During an Emergency, Android Help
This page is general household guidance, not medical advice. Follow instructions from your doctor and local emergency officials first.
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