QUESTIONS and SUPPORT (FAQ)

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What is iHELP?

iHELP is a web and mobile app for smartphones, designed for instant SOS alerts when you need paramedics (112), firefighters (112) or police (113) – any situation that requires immediate help. With the app, we can help not only ourselves but also others in the event of sudden cardiac arrest or other critical medical conditions, a road accident, a fire, or when a person or pet has gone missing. The app offers greater safety at home, on the go and abroad.

iHELP is much more than an app – it is a socially responsible movement working towards greater safety for people. It pursues its heartfelt mission through additional activities such as: mapping defibrillators, building a safety network, education on safety and defibrillator use, teaching the basic steps of CPR with a defibrillator, spreading the Heart-Friendly idea among companies and local communities, and more.

What is the iHELP safety network?

The safety network is a geographic network that shows the distance between the user's location and emergency services, as well as other iHELP users, first responders, paramedics and emergency contacts (ICE).

Who is the iHELP app for?

Paramedics and first responders who already have rescue experience and will be on call in the area where they are present.

Seniors with health problems, people who live alone, anyone who wants greater safety, and cardiac arrest survivors. Families and young mothers who want greater safety at home, at work, on the go and abroad.

What about people who don't have a smartphone?

Every mobile phone today can send and receive text messages. If an iHELP user needs urgent medical help, police or firefighters and triggers an SOS alarm, their emergency contacts and first responders within a 500-metre radius receive the SOS ALARM as a text message.

That's why we recommend creating an iHELP user profile via the iHELP app or the website www.ihelp.life. Each user fills in their personal and medical information (creating an iHELP digital health record), adds their emergency contacts (friends and family members) and adds the locations they visit most, such as home, work, parents' home... With the user's consent, paramedics, police officers, firefighters, emergency contacts and first responders can use this information when an SOS alarm is triggered (to save a life).

Why is it SMART to have an iHELP user profile (account)?

iHELP has set itself the goal of connecting ambulance stations (112), police (113) and firefighters (112). The added value of the patented iHELP SOS alarm system is that a user who doesn't have a smartphone or the iHELP app installed, and who needs urgent medical help, can call 112:

• the 112 dispatcher takes the call and obtains all the necessary information from the caller: who is calling, what the problem is, where they are, their phone number...
• the 112 dispatcher enters all the necessary information into the iHELP system, which then automatically checks the caller's phone number (to see whether they are a registered iHELP user),
• if the iHELP system recognises the phone number of an iHELP user, the 112 dispatcher can alert the casualty's friends, family members, nearby iHELP users, paramedics and first responders on the casualty's behalf,
• this can cut response times by up to 10 times or more!
• the Emergency Medical Service (EMS – 112) can also obtain all the necessary information about the casualty from the iHELP system: their health record and other personal data (provided the user has given consent).

Which phones can I install the mobile app on?

The mobile app is currently available for Android smartphones and iPhones (iOS).

I'd like to become an iHELP responder

Anyone who has completed a Red Cross first aid course, an ITLS Basic course or another comparable course, or who has a medical qualification, can become an iHELP first responder. You can enter your competences – certificates and skills – in your iHELP profile.

Who are the local coordinators?

Local coordinators are individuals who are aware of the problem of sudden cardiac arrest and are willing to strengthen the iHELP network in their local area. Local coordinators work with iHELP and act as a link with people in the local community.

I'd like to use iHELP, but I don't have a smartphone.

Users without a smartphone can use the iHELP web app, through which they can send an SOS alert or view other content.

In which situations can I use the iHELP app to send an SOS alert?

The app is primarily designed for rapid alerts in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. However, users can also trigger an SOS alert in other medical emergencies or accidents.

Do I also need to call 112 after triggering an SOS alert in the iHELP app?

Yes. The app is designed to automatically direct you to call 112 once the SOS process is complete.

What is an automated external defibrillator (AED)?

An AED is a device that uses an electric shock to restore the heart to a normal (regular) rhythm. Using an AED is simple and automatic (the "A" in AED), and they are designed for use by both laypeople and medical staff. If the device does not detect an abnormal heart rhythm or cardiac arrest, it will not deliver a shock. So there is no need to worry about harming someone just because you have no experience using an AED.

We'd like to install a defibrillator in our community. What do we need to do?

iHELP supports socially responsible communities that want to install a defibrillator. Funds raised from iHELP products go towards installing defibrillators in the place where they were purchased. This means iHELP will allocate proceeds from sales of the app, Medical SOS Cards, SOS Tags, SOS Points, SOS Buttons and CPR seminars towards buying a defibrillator for your area.

How does the app know where I am?

Smartphones have built-in GPS that locates the user. If GPS is switched off or there is no signal, users can set their location manually. The app also offers quick preset locations.

Can I send an SOS alert without an internet connection?

If you have an upgraded version of the mobile app (PLUS / PREMIUM plan), SMS alerts are also enabled, even when the app is not connected to the internet. The app generates a text message that you can send to 112, and you can also call 112.

What is a smartphone?

A smartphone is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computing capabilities and connectivity than basic feature phones. Smartphones combine the functions of a handheld computer with a mobile phone. Feature phones are typically only able to run simple apps built on the Java ME platform, while smartphones let users install and run more demanding apps. Smartphones run platforms designed with app developers in mind. You can think of a smartphone as a personal pocket computer with the added functions of a mobile phone – they are essentially ordinary computers, just much smaller. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

I'm performing CPR on someone in cardiac arrest and I know there is an AED nearby, but it's locked inside a building. Should I break into the building, take the AED and use it, or keep doing CPR by hand?

Both options can be correct. If you are performing CPR alone, stopping to go and look for an AED is not appropriate, as it could cost the casualty their life, so it is better to continue with basic life support. If you are not alone at the scene, one volunteer can continue basic life support while another runs to get the AED. If the AED is not accessible and is inside a locked building, you may in principle break into the building. For the possible legal consequences of doing so, see the next question.

What are the legal consequences if I break into a building where an AED is stored because I need it to resuscitate someone in cardiac arrest?

Breaking into a building where an AED is locked (stored) is treated – or should be treated – as an act committed out of necessity, because it was done to protect a life, which ranks above property rights as a value. This means that unlawfulness in the criminal-law sense is excluded, i.e. it does not exist. In theory, the injured party could file a claim for damages, but only against the person who was being rescued. However, as set out in paragraph 2 of Article 138 of the Obligations Code of the Republic of Slovenia:
(2) If a person causes damage in a situation of necessity, the injured party may claim compensation from the person responsible for the risk of damage arising, or from those from whom the damage was averted, but from the latter no more than the benefit they derived from it. A claim by the injured party against the person being rescued would therefore not be well-founded; in line with legal theory, such a claim is not well-founded. The right to life prevails over property rights.

Legal disclaimer: This legal assessment is for information purposes only and refers to the law of the Republic of Slovenia. Regulators or courts may take a different view on this legal question from the position expressed above. This legal opinion no longer applies if legislation and/or case law change. This legal opinion cannot be used directly in court proceedings. Each case is decided by the competent court.