File of Life
Lives on the fridge
- Works with no phone, no battery, no signal
- Free from many local councils on aging
- Goes out of date quietly; nobody is reminded
- Useless once the person leaves the house
File of Life vs Medical ID: which one should an older parent have?
Have both: the File of Life works at home when the phone is missing or dead, and iPhone Medical ID travels with them but only shows on a locked phone if Show When Locked is turned on. A third copy, on your own phone, covers the moment you are the one answering questions.
The File of Life (Concord, Massachusetts Council on Aging page) is a small, bright red, magnetic holder that hangs on the refrigerator, where emergency personnel look for it. It holds a medical history, a medication list and emergency contact information, and that council gives it out free. Apple's Medical ID guide describes how iPhone and Apple Watch can help provide first responders with information about you. The two were built for different rooms. Here is one morning that shows why.
One morning, five places the information was needed
The kitchen floor
An 81-year-old father slips reaching for the kettle. He can talk, but he is shaky and confused about which pills he took. His phone is charging in the bedroom.
Paramedics at the door
They ask about medicines and allergies. He remembers two of five. On the fridge, under a grandchild's drawing, is a red File of Life with a list from three years ago.
In the ambulance
Someone grabs his phone. It is locked. His Medical ID was set up when he bought the phone, but Show When Locked was never switched on.
His daughter arrives at the ER
She drove from forty minutes away. She has his current list, his cardiologist's name and his blood thinner on her own phone, because she typed them in last spring.
Discharge
A nurse asks who will check on him tonight. The neighbor has a printed copy of his plan. The daughter has the up-to-date one. Nobody had all of it.
Every record worked somewhere. None of them worked everywhere.
File of Life, Medical ID and an app card compared
iPhone Medical ID
Lives on their phone
- Travels everywhere the phone goes
- Readable from the Lock Screen only if Show When Locked is on
- No help if the phone is lost, dead or in another room
- Short fields; no room for care instructions
Family Ready card
Lives on your phone (we make it)
- Cards for yourself and for a parent, with their permission
- Emergency Mode works offline, large text, read aloud
- Opens only once someone is past the lock screen
- Free card; sharing with others needs Plus
The fridge is for strangers at the door; the phone is for strangers on the road; the app is for you.
Who Family Ready is not for
- Parents who want one record and nothing else. If you will keep only one thing, keep the paper on the fridge and turn on Medical ID. Both are free and need no new app.
- Families without an iPhone. Family Ready is iPhone only.
- Anyone hoping for an alert service. Family Ready does not detect falls, does not call emergency services and never calls or messages anyone automatically. A personal emergency response device is a different product.
How to set up all three in one sitting
- Turn on Medical ID's lock-screen setting. On your parent's iPhone, open the Health app, find Medical ID, and make sure Show When Locked is on. Add allergies, medicines and an emergency contact.
- Make their Emergency Card in Family Ready. Six short questions: who to call first, allergies, medicines, important conditions, dependants or pets. I don't know and Ask someone later are allowed answers.
- Print it for the fridge. Family Ready's dated Emergency Snapshot PDF is free. Fold it into a File of Life holder if you have one, or tape it inside a cupboard door. MedlinePlus also suggests keeping a list of emergency numbers near the telephone (reviewed 2026).
Ready.gov's advice for older adults (last updated 2024) adds two things worth doing on the same visit: build a support network of family, friends and others who can help, and make copies of Medicaid, Medicare and other insurance cards.
Honest limits
No record checks itself. Every option here is only as current as the last time someone edited it. Family Ready can remind you on a 3, 6 or 12-month review schedule; paper cannot.
We do not know what your local crews check first. The File of Life fridge convention is local; ask your council on aging or fire department whether they hand them out where your parent lives.
Permission matters. Make a card for a parent with their permission. Some parents want to fill in their own; let them type and you hold the phone.
One design decision we made: Emergency Mode never shows ads, pop-ups or purchase prompts, and the Emergency Card never needs a subscription. In a hospital corridor, the screen should only show the card.
Questions about File of Life and Medical ID
What is the File of Life?
A small, bright red magnetic holder that hangs on the refrigerator and holds a medical history, a medication list and emergency contacts. Many local councils on aging and fire departments hand them out free; Concord, Massachusetts is one example.
Is iPhone Medical ID better than the File of Life?
Neither is better everywhere. Medical ID travels with the phone and can be shown from the Lock Screen if Show When Locked is turned on. The File of Life stays at home, where it works even when the phone is lost, dead or in another room. Most families who care for an older parent do well to keep both.
Can paramedics see Medical ID on a locked iPhone?
Only if Show When Locked is turned on in the Health app's Medical ID settings, as Apple's support guide explains. Check it on your parent's phone; it is easy to miss when the ID was set up years ago.
Does Family Ready show on the Lock Screen?
No. Family Ready's Emergency Card opens offline in Emergency Mode once someone is past the lock screen. It is designed for you or a trusted helper to open and read out, not for a stranger with a locked phone. That is why we suggest keeping Medical ID on and a printed copy on the fridge too.
How often should I update a parent's medication list?
Whenever a medicine changes, and at least on a regular schedule. Family Ready lets you pick a 3, 6 or 12-month review. A paper list should carry the date it was written, so anyone reading it knows how old it is.
What should go on an older parent's emergency card?
Who to call first, allergies, current medicines, important conditions, and anyone who depends on them, such as a spouse or a pet. Ready.gov's older adults page also suggests copies of Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance cards.
Carry the third copy
Keep the fridge packet. Turn on Medical ID. Then put a current card on your own phone, for the moment you are the one asked.
Download free on the App Store
Updated November 2026
Related
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- Emergency plan for single parents: the first weekWhen you are the only adult at home, the plan has to cover you being the emergency. A 7-day first-week plan for single parents, one small task a day.