Bracelets are old technology. Since every hospital in America is going to be required to have electronic medical records (mine has for 12 years) I would put it on a flash drive. You could put the location of the flash drive (necklace? purse backup?)on the bracelet and just update the flash drive as needed. This also allows the luxury of scanning documents like cardiac caths, operative reports, etc.

You still need a bracelet since we are still wedded to the old ways for now. But it would be the last bracelt you would ever need.

Maybe, maybe not on the move to tech.

We're boaters.  Until they make a flash drive water proof to 30 m, I need (and will continue to need) the bracelet, even though my medical group has EMRs.

Flash drives are wonderful as backups and giving further info, but flash drives aren't functional in all situations.

 since passing out on the subway i'm thinking it may be time to get one just in case. and keeping an updated list of my meds/vits in my wallet. i'll probably get:

gastric bypass
no NSAIDs
No blind NG tubes
Cardiomyopathy
ICE my dad's cell number

my name is on my id which i'm guessing they would check, so that's not of huge concern, or they would call my dad and say a blonde girl in nyc that had him as her emergency contact and he'd figure it out lol. i'd rather dump than not have sugars that could help in an emergency. i'm debating the no nsaids

 I recently took care of a patient in the ER that had the alert bracelet  that had the USB  part to it and I had no clue.  If she had been unconcious it would NOT have been helpful.  This simplest is still the best.    Your major past medical history RNY is importantm as is the NO BLIND NGT.   Meeting resistance can happen in a normal stomach and I have put in hundreds of NGT over the past 30 years and I would NEVER put one in a RNY patient.  I have had RNY pt's that have GI bleeds and still had them put down under a scope if they are needed.  We do put an NGT down any patient that is intubated (breathing tube).   Your allergies are extremely important.  PCN is the appropriate abrevation for penicillin and that allergy is important to know about.  Many, many drugs are in the same class as PCN and will also cause a reaction.    No Sugars- Truthfully, to most medical people that would be confusing.....does that mean she is a diabetic????   Dumping is not a common ER issue and one that wont actually kill you (even though it may make your feel that way).    
 Name and ICE are absolutes as well.    We really want to know what is going to harm you, so we dont add to an already bad situation!!!!     I think having one is a really great idea.  We really do look for them.  I would also add that most of us look first for a bracelet.  I have seen necklaces, but honestly, I dont know if I would notice that right off.  And if you had on a cervical collar in the case of trauma, it would not be seen at all.

I have road ID which I use instead of my regular medical ID bracelet.  It has my name, date of birth, and my city and state....then it has a 24 hour number to call.  With that number ALL of my medical information is available as well as multiple phone numbers to call.   When I was a nurse I actually used one for a patient who was not concious and it was fantastic to get multiple phone numbers as well as medical history.  There is a 10$ charge per year for that service, though.  

Sorry if this is rambling....just got in from a 16 hr shift and am really wiped out.  But I feel very pasionate about this subject, so please forgive me!!!

Yes, the EMTs, hospital staff, police, etc., will understand ICE and "PCN allergy".

Personally,  I wouldn't bother with the NO SUGARS or I think HYPOGLYCEMIA rather than the full RH would be fine.  It lets them know that there might be blood sugar issues which is all they need to know.

I don't know about putting the PTSD or DID on there...  They would probably understand PTSD and a flashback, but I think many would not know what DID is, but if they do... on one hand it could be helpful to them, but on the other, it might (sadly) affect the treatment you get from the medical staff.

As far as meds, just putting "takes meds" doesnt really tell them anything (I think most people take SOME kind of medication), but if there is something that they need to know about in terms of it being important to continue for your physical welfare (e.g., seizure meds) or something that could endanger you if they DON'T know about it (e.g., blood thinner) I would certainly add it.  Otherwise, I would just make sure you have a list of meds so your partner could give them a complete rundown.

Of course, despite my RNY, my PCN allergy, and the fact that I take an anticoagulent, I often still don't wear mine...

Lora

Thank you for all the insightful info on ordering a medical ID bracelet.  After reading thru all the comments and posts and on medical ID sites I went minimal.  I can change to a new one later if I want.  I have asthma and bypass which I put on the front.  On the back I decided on My full name, ICE - my mom's ph#, then my bariatric dr ph#.  It was difficult to decide what to include and not include.  Hopefully I will have a smart EMT if I every get in an emergency.  For now I will trust the EMTs know about the NG tube for a bypass patient, want aspirin if I have a heart attack and will want sugar if I am totally dying.  Asthma also lends to - go easy on the NSAIDs. This is my thoughts for today anyway.