When paramedics come into a home, the person they came for may not be able to answer questions, and the family member who called may be too shaken to remember a medicine's name. An emergency information sheet answers for them: one page, filled in on a calm day, kept where people know to look. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) suggests that older adults keep this kind of information in the refrigerator, because emergency medical services staff know to look for it there.
What goes on an emergency information sheet?
Keep it to one page that someone can read in a minute. These are the lines on our free sheet, and why each one is there.
| Line | What to write | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Name, date of birth | The full name, as on an insurance card | So the sheet is matched to the right person, and the hospital can find their records |
| Home phone, address | The home number and address | Useful for anyone who reads the sheet away from the house |
| Communication | Languages, hearing aids, glasses, and how the person talks and understands | So the first person through the door knows how to ask questions |
| Conditions | Health conditions a doctor has named | Asked for on every program form |
| Allergies | Each allergy, or "none known" | So nothing is given that the person reacts to; "none known" says the line was not forgotten |
| Medicines | The medicines taken now, or where the full list is kept | So nobody has to read labels in a hurry |
| Doctors and pharmacy | The main doctor, another doctor and the pharmacy, with phone numbers | So the hospital can call for the history |
| Who to call | Two people, how they are related, and their phone numbers | So someone close is told, and can bring what is needed |
| Insurance | The insurer and the member number | Asked for at the hospital desk |
| Updated | The date the sheet was last checked | So a reader can see how current it is |
Our free sheet is this one page in large print: labels in 18 point type, headings in 20 point. Its lines cover what the public forms ask for most often. The Alameda County Fire Department's Vial of Life form holds the person's medical history, allergies, medications, insurance and who to contact. Johnson County MED-ACT's File of Life adds the hospital the person prefers and whether a do-not-resuscitate form exists. The American College of Emergency Physicians lists conditions, allergies, medications and the doctors' contact details.
What are the Vial of Life and the File of Life?
They are two names for the same idea: medical information kept in one agreed place in the home, with a sticker or a magnet telling responders it is there.
- Vial of Life. In many local programs the kit is a small plastic container holding a medical history form, kept in the refrigerator. The Alameda County Fire Department says the top shelf of the refrigerator has been adopted as the standard place, with alert stickers on the vial, on the refrigerator door and on a front window by the door, so rescuers know to look. The Vial of Life website sells kits of two decals and a form, offers the form as a free download, and suggests taping the form to the front of the refrigerator in a plastic bag, with one decal on the refrigerator and one on the front door at eye level.
- File of Life. A form folded into a magnetic pocket on the outside of the refrigerator. Johnson County MED-ACT in Kansas, one of the services that give it out, made it available to residents at no charge.
Many fire departments, ambulance services and other local services run one of these programs, often free. Doctor Carissa is not part of either program, and our sheet is not their form. If your town has a program, use its form and decal, because local responders know them. Our sheet works alongside one, or on its own where there is none.
Where should you keep the sheet?
- On the fridge, in a clear sleeve or a zip bag, unless your local program says otherwise. If it uses a vial on the top shelf, follow that.
- Add a sign on the fridge and inside the front door that says where the information is, as the programs do with their decals.
- One copy in a wallet or purse, folded, as the American College of Emergency Physicians suggests along with copies in the car and the first aid kit.
- One copy in the caregiver binder, with the full medication list behind it.
- One copy with the person who is called first, so they can read it out over the phone.
- "In case of emergency" (ICE) contacts on the person's own phone. ACEP notes that emergency staff check a person's phone for ICE contacts. A photo of the sheet on the caregiver's phone is a spare.
Keep a short list of where the copies are, so every one of them gets replaced when something changes.
How to fill in the sheet
- Make one sheet for each person. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue asks for a separate sheet for each member of the family. Two people in one house means two sheets.
- Fill it in together, if the person can. It is their information, and they often know details nobody else does.
- Copy the medicines from the current medication list, checked against the labels. If the list does not fit, write where the full list is kept: "full list in the binder on the kitchen shelf". Our free large-print medication list is made for the full list.
- Write each allergy, or "none known". A blank line can mean "no allergies" or "not filled in".
- Write the Communication line in plain words: "Speaks Polish, some English", "Wears hearing aids, left ear better", "Has aphasia after a stroke: understands more than he can say, give him time", "Uses a picture board".
- Add the doctors and the pharmacy with their phone numbers, then two people to call, saying how each one is related.
- Write the insurance name and member number, and keep copies of the cards in the binder. Ready.gov suggests making copies of Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance cards.
- Date it on the Updated line, and sign it with your initials if several people keep it.
Our free sheet has fill-in fields: type into the lines in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader before you print, or print it blank and write in pen. Print at "Actual size" so the large print stays large.
Why is there a line for how the person communicates?
Many emergency forms ask about health and medicines and stop there. But one of the first things responders do is ask questions: what happened, where it hurts, what the person takes. If the person has aphasia after a stroke, lives with dementia, can't hear without hearing aids, or speaks another language, the answers may not come, or may come out wrong. Ready.gov asks older adults to plan how they will communicate if they have a communication need.
One line, written in advance, tells the responder what to expect and what helps: hearing aids are on the bedside table, she nods for yes, he needs a Spanish speaker, she understands more than she can say. We put it near the top because it is the line many forms leave out. For someone with aphasia, our free aphasia card does the same job outside the home, in a wallet.
How do you keep it current?
A sheet with last year's medicines can mislead the person reading it. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue asks people to update the form when doctors and medications change, and to write down the date of each update.
- Change it the same day a medicine starts, stops or changes, after a hospital stay, and when a new doctor joins.
- Write the date on the Updated line every time, even when nothing changed.
- Pick two dates a year to check every line, such as the first days of spring and autumn, and set a phone reminder.
- Replace every copy, using your list of where they are.
- Throw the old copies away, so nobody reads the wrong one.
A sheet or an in case of emergency binder?
They do different jobs. The sheet is the summary: one page, on the fridge, read in a minute. A caregiver binder, sometimes called an in case of emergency binder, holds everything behind it: the full medication list, home blood pressure pages, visit notes, an about me page and copies of insurance cards. Our checklist of what to keep in a caregiver binder lists the pages, and the emergency sheet is one of them.
What the sheet is not
It is a blank form that holds what you write. It gives no medical advice, and it is not a legal document. If the person has papers such as a living will or a do-not-resuscitate order, some program forms ask whether they exist and where they are kept; questions about those papers belong with the person's doctor or lawyer.
Our full Emergency Information Sheet adds the same information on two pages with more room (a medication table, blood type, devices and aids, four people to call, the usual hospital, other insurance and where important papers are kept), folding wallet cards that take the name, the person to call and the main doctor from the sheet, and two notes that say where the sheet is kept, for the fridge door and the front door.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Vial of Life?
A Vial of Life is a medical information form kept in the refrigerator in a small container, or taped to the front of it in a plastic bag, with a sticker on the fridge and on or near the front door so responders know to look for it. Many local fire departments and senior services hand out kits, often free, and the Vial of Life website offers a free form.
What is the File of Life?
The File of Life is a medical information form folded into a magnetic pocket that sits on the outside of the refrigerator. It is given out by local services such as Johnson County MED-ACT in Kansas, and holds personal details, medications, conditions and allergies.
What should be on an emergency information sheet?
The person's name and date of birth, how they communicate, health conditions, allergies, current medicines, doctors and pharmacy with phone numbers, two people to call, insurance details and the date it was last updated. Keep it to one page.
Is this the official Vial of Life form?
No. Doctor Carissa is not part of the Vial of Life or File of Life programs. Our free sheet holds the same kind of information in large print, with a line for how the person communicates. If your town runs a program, use its form and decals.
How often should the sheet be updated?
Whenever a medicine, a doctor or a health condition changes, with the date written on it each time. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue's form asks for the date of each update. Checking every line twice a year catches what was missed.
Sources
We opened and checked every link on October 5, 2026.
- The Vial of Life Lifesaving Kit, Vial of Life. A kit is two decals and one medical information form; tape the form to the front of the refrigerator, in a plastic bag; put one decal on the refrigerator and one on the front door at eye level; a free printable form.
- Vial of Life, Alameda County Fire Department. A small container with a medical history form (medical history, allergies, medications, insurance and who to contact); the top shelf of the refrigerator is the standard place; alert stickers on the vial, the refrigerator door and the front window by the door, so rescuers know it is there.
- File of Life Program, Johnson County MED-ACT (Kansas). Given at no charge; the front holds personal details, the hospital of choice and whether an out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate form exists; the back holds prescription medications, medical conditions and medication allergies; the form goes in a magnet pocket on the refrigerator.
- Prepare for the Unexpected: Your ER Checklist, American College of Emergency Physicians. Keep updated medical history forms with conditions, allergies, medications and doctors' contact details; keep copies at home, in the car, in first aid kits and in the wallet; seniors should consider keeping this information in the refrigerator, where emergency medical services staff know to look; add ICE contacts to the phone.
- Vial of Life (PDF form), Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. A separate sheet for each member of the family, in a plastic bag on the refrigerator; update it when doctors and medications change, and write down the date of each update.
- Older Adults, Ready.gov (FEMA). Plan how you will communicate if you have a communications need; make copies of Medicaid, Medicare and other insurance cards.
An educational support tool. Not a substitute for evaluation or treatment by a licensed speech-language pathologist or physician. Read the full disclaimer.