Question 1: What's the purpose of a poison center?
Answer: The quick answer is that poison centers save lives and save dollars. They save lives by providing emergency poisoning triage and treatment information to whoever needs it... from the mom at home with a toddler who just ingested a mouthful of bleach, to the emergency physician who calls for treatment information on a patient with a cyanide overdose, and everything in between. Quick responses from one of our poison specialists can result in someone's life being saved.
Poison centers save money by managing the vast majority of calls safely and inexpensively at home.
Question 2: How do poison centers save money?
Answer: A quick call to the poison center is faster and a lot less expensive than going to the emergency room. Over 75% of all cases reported to the Maryland Poison Center are managed safely at home. The average cost of a usual poisoning related emergency room visit in Maryland is between $500 and $1,000.
In 1997, we managed over 29,000 cases at home. The potential cost savings just in this one area are between $14,500,000 and $29,000,000 every year! We also make sure people who do need to be in a hospital get there and get the best treatment possible. By identifying and treating people early, before serious symptoms develop, we can help optimize care for those patients who are managed in a hospital or clinic.
Question 3: Who staffs the emergency phone lines?
Answer: In Maryland, specialty trained pharmacists and nurses cover the phone lines 24 hours a day. These poison specialists are all certified by the American Association of Poison Control Centers. We use the best trained, best qualified people to manage poisoning and overdose cases.
Question 4: What do you have to do to become a Certified Specialist in Poison Information?
Answer: First, you must be a pharmacist, nurse or physician. Then, you need to work in a poison center for at least one year. In order to sit for the certification exam, you must have managed 2,000 human exposure cases. Then, you have to take and pass a national certification exam. And every seven years, you must re-take the exam in order to re-certify.
