Background: Medical identification tags are defined as tags that are worn as bracelets, neck chains, and can be on smartphones. They were initially designed to identify and alert the medical providers of the previous medical history of the patient. In emergencies, the medical provider needs to know the identity of the patient receiving care, so that the medical provider can help the patients and provide them with the optimum treatment they need. The main aim of this study is to establish awareness and credibility of medical identification tags among medical and non-medical healthcare providers in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Saudi Arabia. A standardized questionnaire was sent to healthcare providers and non-healthcare providers using the Google Questionnaire survey.
Result: Out of the 271 responses, around 52% were healthcare providers. Nearly 35% stated they had no clue about medical identification tags, 31% stated they were not sure if they know about medical identification tags, whereas approximately 33% stated that they knew what medical identification tags were.
Conclusion: Medical identification tags may help in saving many lives of patients with chronic diseases, and medical providers need to start advising patients to utilize medical identification tags where the immediate diagnosis is essential to save their lives.
Key words: Medical identification, emergency medicine, patient education, smartphones
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