A smart card for health services will provide basic medical information to help in an emergency, Health Minister Tony Abbott says.

Federal cabinet is today considering a smart card that will cover Medicare and welfare payments.

Abbott today said that, in terms of health information, the card would provide basic health information to assist medical staff during an emergency.

"If there is a smart card -- and we haven't taken any final decisions on this but if there is a smart card in health, for instance -- it ought to mean that if you are in trouble a doctor or ambulance officer, a hospital emergency department will be able to access some basic health information from that smart card," he told the Nine Network.

"Now that could mean the differences between life or death."

Abbott said people should not be afraid of the card as it would provide better value for taxpayers' dollars.

"This is not something that should scare people," he said.

"It's about delivering better services. It's about ensuring that people don't steal your identity, it's about trying to ensure that we get better value for taxpayers' dollars."

The card would not contain people's entire medical history, just basic details.

"Well certainly in the health area we're not looking to put people's entire health records on a smart card," he said.

"We'd simply be looking at basic health details -- blood type, any allergies and recent medical history and so on -- so that if people are in trouble and they aren't able to advise their doctors and other health professionals what's happening to them, then the card can help."