When someone cannot answer
How can someone identify an unconscious person?
Short answer
When a person is unconscious, the first person on scene should call 911 and give care first. Identification comes from what the person carries: an ID, a medical ID, a phone's emergency information, or a scannable Safety ID that links to the identity and emergency contacts the person chose to share.
Care comes first
Call 911 and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Do not move someone who may be injured unless they are in danger where they are. Look for identifying information only once help is on the way.
Common ways to identify someone, and their limits
- Wallet ID or driver's license: often not carried on a ride, a walk or a run, and it never says who to call.
- Medical bracelet or necklace: holds only a few words and rarely lists emergency contacts.
- Phone emergency information: many helpers do not know it exists, and the phone has to be found, charged and undamaged.
- Paper notes in a bag or car: easy to miss and quickly out of date.
What a Safety ID adds
A scannable Safety ID connects to a Personal Emergency Profile. Anyone at the scene can scan it with a phone camera, with no app or login, and within seconds see the identity, emergency contacts and Message to EMS the person chose to share.
The helper can then contact the right people and share the location where help is needed, and pass that information on when EMS arrives.
For families and organizations
Parents can set up profiles for their children, adult children for their parents, and organizations for their teams and members. Each Safety ID goes where it will be found: on a helmet, phone case, bag or piece of gear.
Scan If Hurt™ helps bridge The Information Gap™. It does not replace 911, EMS or medical care. In any emergency, call 911 first.
Common questions
How can first responders identify an unconscious person?
They rely on what the person carries: an ID, a medical ID, a phone's emergency information, or a scannable Safety ID that links to the identity and emergency contacts the person chose to share.
Does a helper need an app to scan a Safety ID?
No. Any phone camera can scan a Safety ID. No app, account or login is needed.
Does a Safety ID replace calling 911?
No. Always call 911 first. A Safety ID helps the first person on scene identify someone and reach the right people while help is on the way.
Close The Information Gap™ before it opens
Set up your Personal Emergency Profile and Safety ID in minutes, so the first person on scene can help when you cannot speak for yourself.
