Medical ID bracelets letting emergency responders know about a person’s health history may soon be a thing of the past.

Now there’s an app for that.

Sherman Health has launched a new application dubbed In Case of Emergency, which will tell paramedics and doctors a patient’s allergies, medications and emergency contacts.

“It’s a really nice very helpful app for people to have, and there’s really no reason not to have it,” said Josh McColough, marketing manager for Sherman Health. “A lot of people have stories about being in accident, unable to reach someone, or not having information when crews could have used it.”

Sherman Health has launched an iPhone app that allows users to store emergency contact information as well as their medications and allergies. (Photo from Sherman Health)

Sherman developed the app with DC Interactive of Elgin. It can place up to two emergency contacts at the top of the phone’s contact list or even on its wallpaper, allowing medical crews to see them even if the phone is locked. The phone also stores information about allergies, medications and existing conditions and can provide a map to Sherman Hospital from the phone’s location.

McColough hasn’t heard concerns about having such information stored on the phone and said he wouldn’t consider it to be highly sensitive.

“We really do feel this is such a helpful informational thing to have, I’d like to believe the good it can do in a real emergency situation is much better, and outweighs potential risk,” he said.

Sherman Health plans to train local emergency responders in locating information using the app. He said it would be useful for people in any location to download.

Roughly 250 people already have done so. The free app is currently is available for iPhones and will be released for Android in June.

For information visit http://ice.shermanhealth.com.