What to Engrave on Your Medical ID or Medical Alert Bracelet

engraved-medical-id

Purpose of a Medical ID

Aside from any aesthetic aspects the main goal medical alert bracelets are trying to achieve to clearly communicate specific medical of allergic conditions to the paramedics or EMT’s as quickly as possible.

That way you can receive proper treatment right away even if you are in a state of unselfconscious when help arrives. As the saying goes :

The medical ID speaks for you when you are unable to speak.

Final Authority is Your Medical Professional

These following guidelines will get you started, but your doctor should be the one that makes the final recommendation for the language that will be engraved on your medical id.

Key Points

There are four pieces of information that generally need to be engraved on a medical id alert bracelet:

diagnosis or condition,

allergies (if any),

patient’s name,

emergency contact.

optional:

patient’s address (in case of dementia)

social security number

Should You Provide Personal Information?

Most people prefer not to have their personal information engraved at all. But if the medical id provides room for a 2 sided engraving some will have their name and emergency contact engraved on the back.

See Other Side

If you have a medical alert bracelet that is engraved on both sides; it might be a good idea to add ” See Other Side ” so the paramedics are not going to miss some vital informations. On the other side this probably isn’t necessary in case of a pendant or any similar medical ID that can be easily viewed from both sides.

Emergency Contact

Keep in mind when you are listing an emergency contact that this person is actually willing and able to respond to the call if necessary. That would exclude people who travel frequently or won’t answer the phone if they don’t recognize the caller id.

Common Medical Abbreviations

In order to save room a number of standard medical abbreviations exists that are almost universally accepted.
Some will have upper and lower case letters on purpose. Another way of providing as much information as possible is to leave out words that are not really necessary. i.e. instead of saying ” taking coumadin ” just use ” coumadin “. The same holds true for allergies – just use the word ” no ” followed by the food or drug you are allergic to.

Abd

abdomen/abdominal

A-fib

atrial fibrillation

AAA

abdominal aortic aneurysm

ACLS

Advanced Cardiac Life Support

right ear

AED

automated external defibrillator

AIDS

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

AKA

above knee amputation

ALS

Advanced Life Support

AMI

acute myocardial infarction

amp

ampule

ant

ARDS

adult respiratory distress syndrome

AS

left ear

ASA

aspirin

ASAP

as soon as possible

ASHD

arteriosclerotic heart disease

AU

both ears

AV

atrioventricular

ax

axillary

B /bil

bilateral

bid

twice daily

BKA

below knee amputation

BLS

basic life support

BP

blood pressure

C-cath

cardiac catheterization

CA

cancer

CABG

coronary artery bypass graft

CAD

coronary artery disease

CHF

congestive heart failure

CO

carbon monoxide

CO2

carbon dioxide

COPD

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

CPR

cardiopulmonary resuscitation

CRF

chronic renal failure

CV

cardiovascular

CXR

chest x-ray

D/C

discontinue

d/s or d/stick

dextrose stick

D50W

Dextrose 50% in water

D5W

Dextrose 5% in water

decub

decubitus ulcer

defib

defibrillate / defibrillation

DKA

diabetic ketoacidosis

DM

diabetes mellitus

DNR

do not resuscitate

DTs

delirium tremens

DVT

deep vein thrombosis

Dx/diag

diagnosis

Epi

Epinephrine

EpiPen

epinephrine pen

ET

endotracheal

ETT

endotracheal tube

FA

forearm

FB

foreign body

Fe

iron

flex

flexion

ft

foot

Fx

fracture

G-tube

gastrostomy tube

GC

gonococcus

GE

gastroesophageal

GERD

gastroesophageal reflux disease

GI

gastrointestinal

GU

genitourinary

Gyn

gynecology

H20

water

H202

hydrogen peroxide

HBV

Hepatitis B Virus

HCO3

bicarbonate

Hct

hematocrit

Hgb

hemoglobin

HIV

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HTN

hypertension

Hx

history

IDDM

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

IF

index finger

IM

intramuscular

inf

inferior

IO

intraosseous

irreg

irregular

irrig

irrigation

IV

intravenous

J-tube

jejunostomy tube

jt

joint

JVD

jugular vein distension

KVO

keep vein open

L

left

lat lateral

lg

large

lido

lidocaine

liq

liquid

LLL

left lower lobe

LLQ

left lower quadrant

LS

lumbosacral

LUL

left upper lobe

LUQ

left upper quadrant

LV

left ventricle

LVH

left ventricular hypertrophy

lytes

electrolytes m – meter

Max

maximum

mcg

microgram

meds

medications

Mg

magnesium

mg

milligram

MI

myocardial infarction

Mod

moderate

MRI

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRSA

methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

MRSE

methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermis

MS

multiple sclerosis

MS

morphine sulfate

MVP

mitral valve prolapsed

NA

not applicable

Na

sodium

NAHCO3

sodium bicarbonate

NaHCO3

sodium bicarbonate

NC

nasal cannula

NG

nasogastric

NH

nursing home

NIDDM

non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitis

NKA

no known allergies

NKDA

no known drug allergies

No

allergic to

npo

nothing by mouth

NSR

normal sinus rhythm

NTG

nitroglycerin

O2

oxygen

OBS

organic brain syndrome

OD

right eye

OS

left eye

OU

both eyes

p

o

by mouth

PAC

premature atrial contraction

PAT

paroxysmal atrial tachycardia

post

posterior

prn

whenever necessary

PSVT

paroxismal supraventricular tachycardia

PUD

peptic ulcer disease

Pulm Ed

pulmonary edema

PVC

premature ventricular contraction

q

every

qh

every hour

qid

four times daily

R

right

reg

regular

resp

respiration

RLL

right lower lobe

RLQ

right lower quadrant

RML

right middle lobe

RUL

right upper lobe

RUQ

right upper quadrant

sm

small

SpO2

percent oxygen saturation

spont

spontaneous

SVT

supraventricular tachycardia

tab

tablet

TB

tuberculosis

TCN

tetracycline

tid

three times a day

TKO

to keep open

TMJ

temporo mandibilar joint

trach

tracheal/tracheostomy

tsp

teaspoon

Tx

treatment

UGI

upper gastrointestinal

UHF

ultra-high frequency

URI

upper respiratory infection

UTI

urinary tract infection

V-fib

ventricular fibrillation

vent

ventilator

VHF

very-high frequency

VT

V tach

ventricular tachycardia

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