I've been carrying a medical info card containing everything that people may know about me should they find me unconscious and needing a doctor -- my name, address, birth date, insurance info, primary care physician info, emergency contact, prescription meds, med allergies, major health conditions, etc. Now, after carrying this car with me for years, it suddenly dawned on me, what if my wallet gets stolen? Wouldn't this card be a treasure trove for anyone looking to defraud me or steal my identity?

If you carry such a medical info card, how do you make it secure?

I am in the same situation, but am not too concerned.

I don't put my social security account number on the card, nor any banking information. I don't think much of the information on it is particularly useful to a thief. The credit cards and money is more useful to them. Medical conditions, drugs, who to call and medical insurance info only on the card; hard for them to turn that info into cash, I think.

And, I almost hate to say it, but the risk to my health and life of being without that information being available is worse than any potential financial loss or identity theft.

Note, I also wear a med-alert pendant engraved with the most critical med info.

If the information on your driver's license or state ID is compromised, that would be a huge help to any identity thieves. A medical insurance card being compromised along with it would help someone commit medical identity theft (where medical services are obtained fraudulently with another's information). Both of those cards are carried in my wallet. It's not clear to me what other information on your medical information card would be of significant use to someone bent on committing fraud.

There are commercial vendors that supply wallet cards and wearable medical alert devices that display just your primary medical condition, like "Diabetic," or whatever else you'd like, including I suppose nothing, along with your unique patient identifier and a telephone number and/or website that can be contacted for additional information. That's pretty secure. A flash drive with your medical information on it can also be useful, but probably not as useful in the early part of a medical emergency.

The best place to wear a medical alert device is on the left wrist, IMHO, primarily because most American ambulance designs usually cause the medic to work on a patient from the patient's left side, and an ID is therefore more likely to be spotted while taking a BP, starting an IV, etc.

If you don't want to deal with a commercial vendor, I don't think it would be too hard to set up a reasonably secure, password protected website with your medical information on it, and to print up your own medical alert card with whatever you want on it, including your website password. Then, if your wallet is lost or stolen, you could just lock out your website. Alternately, you could just give the password to those listed on your wallet card as emergency contacts.

My DMAT team created accountability tags that allowed members to print out their medical information confidentially, and include it inside wallet card sized ID card/slipcover, which was then laminated closed and sealed. In an emergency, the card could be cut open along the edge and the medical information slip removed.

The past year or so I have noticed that when I go for lab tests, x-rays etc., the check-in procedure requires a photo id (i.e. drivers licence or state issue ID card) and the insurance card, both of which are scanned into the computer. This may be just a local procedure, but I think that it would cut down on this type of fraud.

Personally, my larger concern is what the insurance companies, and potentially the government, employers and other other corporations in the information aggregation business, might do with all my personal information that they may have access to, lawfully or otherwise. The Chinese already presumably have accessed every detail contained in my security clearance records. But this veers dangerously close to an unsuitable for this forum political topic.

This is common practice in the USA and, as you surmise, is designed (at least in large part) to defend against medical identity theft.

But it would never work to prevent voter fraud.

the only useful ting on there is your DOB. Otherwise its great to share

I wonder if carrying a medical info card on one's person really helps all that much. A while ago I discussed this with a paramedic and a nurse working in the ER. Both said that no medical information found on the patient/victim, unless issued officially and clearly belonging to the person in question, would be taken at face value.

For instance, even if you're wearing a blood type tag the paramedics are required to double check first before giving transfusion. At least that seems to be SOP around here. The only exception being service personnel on duty carrying official tags or info cards, or civilians with a serious condition (such as diabetes or epilepsy), again carrying officially issued armbands and/or tags.

Apparently, there have been instances when people were wearing cards with information that was either incorrect or pertaining to a different person. Hence posing a serious liability (not to mention a potential lawsuit these days).