Making Medical Information and History available in an Emergency

If a patient is in shock, or non-responsive, they are unable to communicate the vital information needed to help medical personal make informed decisions on what treatment to administer. The correct information may point to an underlying cause of the symptoms visible to the medical responders and may warn them of potential complications which informs them on emergency treatment.

For instance, a young patient with difficulty breathing and cystic fibrosis may look like a young patient with asthma, or pneumonia, or even a panic attack, but the cystic fibrosis patient is in great danger. The medical personal may decide to opt for more rapid transport where they might otherwise administer albuterol and observe its effect.

A patient in seizures who has a history of alcoholism will be treated differently from a seizing patient who suffered recent head trauma, or a patient with a history of epilepsy, or a patient who is taking blood thinners.

Similarly, the Medications a patient is taking can have a huge impact. A man who is on painkillers and has chest pain may be harmed by the usual treatment of administering morphine.

And should the patient have allergies, and is allergic to a medication administered, it can kill them outright.

Let's not forget Infectious Disease. If medical personal know a patient has an infectious disease, they can limit exposure to themselves, bystanders, and other staff.