METHOD FOR EMERGENCY SERVICE ACCESS USING A MOBILE PHONE

There is provided a method for emergency service access using a mobil telephone. When an emergency situation arises and a caller enters an emergency number such as 911 [send] from a locked mobile telephone, the mobile telephone compares the entered value (911) with a list of emergency numbers stored in the memory of the mobile telephone. If the entered number is on the known emergency number list, the mobile telephone immediately places the emergency call even though the telephone is locked. All other key combinations will be compared to a user defined access code previously stored in memory. If the entered value matches the value stored in memory, the mobile phone will be unlocked and ready for normal use. If the values do not match, the mobile phone will remain disabled. In addition, during an emergency call, a mobile provider provides a set of emergency contact records (ECR) to an emergency public service answering point (PSAP). These emergency contact records may include information for each member in the family, including the individual's name, home address, phone number, physical description, emergency contact name and number, doctor's name and number, emergency medical information, such as drug allergies, temporary conditions, such as a pregnancy, a digital image, and any other information the subscriber deems relevant for the PSAP to know in an emergency. In the event the subscriber places a call while not in the subscriber's home system, the local MSC will send a request to the subscriber's home system asking the home system to send the subscriber's ECRs to the PSAP. In an additional embodiment of the invention, the MSCs will send a request to an independent organization which maintains ECRs and request the organization to send the information to the PSAP selected by the MSC.