Even though Apple doesn’t like sharing details about its upcoming updates months ahead of their release date, we got lucky and a bunch of interesting features from iOS 13.5 were leaked. The leak is showing us that Apple is now testing new ways to give iPhone and Apple Watch users the option to share their medical information with 911 call centers in case something bad happens.
Fortunately, we don’t have to rely only on leaks because Apple decided to confirm that iOS 13.5 is scheduled to launch during the next couple of weeks and that it will focus on introducing new Medical ID features. With that said, let’s check out everything there is to know about iOS 13.5.
Apple is Introducing Automatic Medical ID
If this is the first time that you are reading about Apple’s Medical ID, then you should know that this is a feature that can be found in Apple’s Health app. Users can edit their Medical ID file with personal information such as their blood type, existing medical conditions, and emergency numbers for example.
The purpose of Medical ID is to help provide doctors with all the necessary information in case of an emergency. Now, Apple is taking things to the next level by introducing new functionality that will use the user’s location to determine if they are in an area that supports “Enhanced Emergency Data” services for 911 calls.
How Does It Work?
If users enable the new functionality of Medical ID, all the information that they included in the file will be delivered to the 911 call center. Therefore, the doctors will know exactly if there is a special condition that they should watch out for such as diabetes, for example.
We also want to highlight the fact that all information that is included in Medical ID is fully encrypted on the iOS-powered device. Therefore, users don’t need to worry about leaks or hacks.