Put ICE in your = mobile

News=20 Archive =

Put ICE = in your=20 mobile

What would happen if = you were in=20 an accident? Would rescue services know who to contact on = your=20 behalf? Storing information in your phone could be the = answer.=20

July 21, 2006

Bob Brotchie =

The concept is simple. By storing the acronym ICE - in = case of=20 emergency - in the address book of your mobile phone, = followed by=20 the name and number of a relative or close friend, medical = and=20 emergency services personnel will be able to get in swift = contact=20 with your loved ones.

The idea was first conceived by = British=20 paramedic Bob Brotchie, a clinical team leader for the East = Anglian=20 Ambulance NHS Trust. Brotchie, who has been a paramedic for = almost=20 15 years, has extensive experience of struggling to get = contact=20 information from shocked or injured patients. It occurred to = him=20 that while a majority of the victims carried no details = about their=20 next of kin, almost everyone carried a mobile = phone.

"I was=20 constantly scrolling through patients' mobile phone address = books,=20 trying to establish who they were before we got to the = hospital,"=20 Brotchie says. "It was time consuming and often = unsuccessful, so I=20 came up with the idea of using an acronym to create a = uniform=20 approach."

According to the http://www.icecontact.com/=20 home page, it normally takes hours to contact family members = in an=20 emergency - but it can sometimes take days. With ICE in your = phone,=20 that time can be significantly reduced. Emergency personnel = can=20 quickly find out whom to contact to confirm the identity of = a=20 casualty. In turn, the contact may be able to provide vital = medical=20 information such as blood group and allergies, and give = consent for=20 emergency treatment.

In April 2005, Brotchie launched = a=20 nationwide campaign in the UK to promote the concept of ICE = numbers,=20 backed by mobile phone company Vodafone. Following the = terrorist=20 attacks in London in July 2005, ICE took off, spreading = rapidly from=20 the UK to the US, Australia and New Zealand. The concept got = global=20 exposure practically overnight, with international media = coverage=20 and a large-scale e-mail campaign helping spread the=20 word.

"The response was overwhelming," Brotchie says. = "I=20 stood in my ambulance uniform in New York's Times Square = asking=20 people if they had heard about ICE, and four out of five = people had.=20 It was phenomenal. We got backing from the governments in = Australia=20 and New Zealand, and a large telecoms company in Australia = sent out=20 7 million SMS messages inviting their customers to put ICE = in their=20 mobile."

Secure and robust
The = original=20 mobile-phone concept quickly developed. Brotchie says: = "People asked=20 what would happen if their mobile phone was = password-protected, if=20 it was destroyed in an accident, the batteries failed or the = network=20 went down. They loved the idea of ICE but they wanted = something more=20 secure and robust."

The answer was ICE Contact - a = fully=20 secure emergency-contact service. Members of the = subscription=20 service submit medical and next-of-kin information in = exchange for a=20 personal ICE card. The card holds no personal details - = those are=20 stored on a secure database - just a membership number and a = free=20 phone number.

Upon finding the card, emergency = personnel can=20 call the number and obtain potentially life-saving = information about=20 the patient. The ICE call center will then immediately = notify the=20 emergency contact.
Brotchie says having both an ICE = number on=20 your phone and ICE Contact is a great combination: "Should = you be=20 unfortunate enough to be in an accident, your chances of = being=20 reunited with your loved ones at the earliest possible time = are=20 increased enormously." The subscription service has now = spread to=20 the US, Australia, New Zealand, and South = Africa.

Brotchie=20 thinks the main reasons for the ICE concept catching on are = because=20 it is simple, easy to use and free. But it is also about = timing. He=20 says: "Following 9/11 (terrorist attacks in the US on = September 11,=20 2001) and the London bombings, people have become more = aware. The=20 attitude has changed from 'it wouldn't happen to me' to = entertaining=20 the thought that it might. And, of course, people's lives = are=20 randomly touched by road accidents and illness every=20 day."

Brotchie is now focusing on securing the future = of the=20 subscription service and has been encouraging mobile phone = companies=20 to include an ICE contact as a standard address-book feature = in=20 future models. "I'd love to be more involved in that because = I think=20 there is so much that could be done," he says.

"The = whole=20 idea is about protecting people - providing them with the = best=20 opportunity to be reunited with their loved ones and receive = appropriate medical attention. I don't really care how that = happens,=20 as long as it does."

How to put ICE in your = mobile:

Access your mobile phone's address book.=20
Go to your chosen emergency contact.=20
Edit the entry by inserting "ICE" before their name.=20
Save the amendment.

To learn more about ICE, go to: http://www.icecontact.com/