Emergency contact information sheet: what to include

An emergency sheet is one page with who to call, the person's allergies, what they take, their doctor and their insurer. Put allergies near the top, write every number with its area code, and keep the sheet where someone else could find it in a minute.

This is for US households, where the emergency number is 911. It's a page of what you typed, not medical advice, and it isn't a medical ID.

A filled sheet

Someone is standing in your kitchen, a grandparent or a sitter, and something has happened. They don't know your daughter's allergy or which of your two phone numbers is the one that picks up. A page on the fridge answers both. Here's what one looks like, filled in for Amina, 8.

An example with made-up names and numbers.

What goes on it, in order

1. Put "In an emergency, call 911" at the top, so nobody has to think.
2. Write the person's name and age, and their date of birth if a form would want it.
3. Write allergies in the biggest type, with what the reaction is. "Peanuts (hives)" says more than "peanuts."
4. List what they take now, copied from the labels: the medication list is the source, and this is a short copy of it.
5. Add two people to call, and a way to tell them apart: "Sam, cell" and "Aunt Priya, in a different town." Two numbers in the same place aren't much use in a power cut.
6. Add the doctor's name and number, and the pharmacy if you like.
7. Add the Poison Help number, 1-800-222-1222. It's free and confidential, and it's a US number.
8. Write your home address. Someone calling from your kitchen may not know it.
9. Date the sheet at the bottom, so the next person knows how old it is.

A sheet is not a medical ID

A medical ID is a different thing from this page. It's meant to be worn or built into a phone so it can be found on the person, without anyone needing a key to your kitchen. Whether you want one is a question for your doctor. A printed sheet is only what you typed, on a day you typed it, and it can be out of date by spring.

Where the copies live

• Fridge: one copy, at eye level.
• Bag or glove box: a copy with the insurance line filled in.
• Anyone minding the children: a copy handed over, plus a word about where the other is.

What to leave off the fridge copy

A fridge sheet is visible to anyone who comes into your house, so leave the insurance member ID off it and put it on the bag copy. For the sitter version, with bedtime and the green cup, see the babysitter and grandparent info sheet. To choose what stays off a page you hand over, read what to leave off a health page you hand over.

What goes wrong

The sheet fails in three ways. The numbers change and nobody updates it. It holds so much that the allergy gets lost. Or it's in a drawer nobody else knows about. Check the numbers when you change phones, and reread it whenever a medicine changes.

Common questions

What the Companion prints

Family Health Binder prints an Emergency card from what you've entered: name, age, allergies, conditions, medications, who to call, their doctor and insurance. You cut it out along the dashed line, and it says what it is: it reflects only what was typed in, isn't medical advice and doesn't replace a medical ID. It's paper, wider than a wallet card, and it can't be opened from a locked phone. The sitter version, the Caregiver sheet, carries "In an emergency, call 911." Emergency contact and insurance always print, so leave out what you don't want on paper. See the Family Health Binder.

What to do next

If you also want to write down who would speak for you about medical care, that's a separate job, covered in who would speak for you about medical care. Next step: fill the top three lines, allergies, first contact and doctor, and put the page on the fridge tonight.