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The American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1958 that represents the
nation's 55
poison centers. The AAPCC supports poison centers in their
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
mission to prevent poisonings, provide education, conduct scientific research and treat individuals exposed to
poisoning from medications,
environmental events,
plants
Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...
,
animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
, and household products or
toxins
A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1 ...
. The AAPCC also supports the efforts of poison centers and interested individuals to reduce
morbidity
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
and
mortality from unintentional poisonings. The AAPCC sets standards for poison center operations and certifies
specialists in poison information who are available 24/7 to respond to public, health-care provider and emergency medical service personnel requests for assistance. In addition, the AAPCC maintains the National Poison Data System (NPDS), the only near real-time poison information and surveillance
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
in the United States.
Key AAPCC Activities
*
Accreditation
Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
of regional poison centers and certification of poison center personnel
*Publication of the annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System (NPDS), published every December in ''
Clinical Toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
''
*Interaction with private and governmental agencies whose activities influence poisoning and poison centers
*Co-hosting a national conference of poison center leaders that includes scientific presentations, business meetings, and committee meetings
*Development of public and professional education programs and materials
*Collection and analysis of national poisoning data
*Promotion and support of legislation to improve poison prevention practices and programs
*Participation on and partnerships with national coalitions and committees to advance public safety and poison prevention
Poison Centers
Poison control centers have been providing vital poison exposure and information services in the United States for more than 60 years. Answering close to three million calls a year, centers save countless lives and millions of tax dollars.
Currently, there are 55 poison control centers in the U.S. that collectively serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Federated States of Micronesia, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.
Poison Help Hotline: 1-800-222-1222
Poison control centers provide free, confidential, and expert medical advice via the Poison Help hotline: 1-800-222-1222. Each center answers calls to Poison Help from a designated geographic area, including calls from the public, hospitals, EMTs, and other health care providers. All calls are answered by physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical professionals with specific training in toxicology. This free and confidential service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Poison center services are accessible to all populations, including under-served and undocumented groups, and is available in over 150 languages. More than 70 percent of all cases received by poison centers can be safely and effectively treated at home.
Poison control centers provide free, confidential, The 24-hour national toll-free Poison Help line provides immediate poison information and emergency instructions to all callers regardless of health insurance, immigration status, or language preference from any U.S. telephone or cell phone. Calls are answered by physicians, nurses and pharmacists with highly specialized training in poison management. Poison center services are accessible to all populations, including under-served and undocumented groups, those speaking one of 150 languages and those utilizing telecommunication devices for the
hearing-impaired
Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spoken l ...
(
TDD/TTY). More than 70 percent of all cases received by poison centers can be safely and effectively treated at home, without need for further medical care.
Cost Savings for the Health-Care System
Substantial cost savings have been attributed to poison center reductions in unnecessary
emergency department
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
(ED) care through accurate assessment and
triage
In medicine, triage () is a practice invoked when acute care cannot be provided for lack of resources. The process rations care towards those who are most in need of immediate care, and who benefit most from it. More generally it refers to prio ...
of poisoning exposures. The public health and cost benefits from poison center
pre-hospital
Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to definitive care. ...
management of patients not needing ED visits favorably impacts the self-pay or copaying general public, the health-care institution supporting the costs of indigent care, the commercial insurance companies and governmental health-care funding agencies. Poison centers assess and manage more than 70 percent of poison exposures over the phone, eliminating the need for callers to seek further medical care. This reduction in medically unnecessary ED visits decreases hospital overcrowding and minimizes unnecessary ambulance runs, freeing critical emergency staff to handle true emergencies more effectively.
National Poison Data System (NPDS)
The AAPCC owns and manages a large database of information from all poison exposure and information case phone calls to all poison centers across the country. It is the only near real-time, comprehensive poisoning surveillance database in the United States.
NPDS holds more than 50 million poison exposure case records, with more than 2 million new records added each year. It is also a robust and modern system – holding technical medical information that is searchable in many ways. NPDS contains exposure cases dating back to 1985. Today, information and exposure case data is continually uploaded to NPDS from all the poison centers in near “real time.”
''NPDS can:''
*Guide clinical research on poisonings.
*Prompt new product and medicine formulas.
*Help provide evidence for product repackaging, recalls, bans, over-the-counter status changes, product reformulation.
*Focus poison prevention education.
*Direct training of future medical students.
*Detect
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
or
bioterrorism
Bioterrorism is terrorism involving the intentional release or dissemination of biological agents. These agents are bacteria, viruses, insects, fungi, and/or toxins, and may be in a naturally occurring or a human-modified form, in much the same ...
incidents.
''Key regulatory agencies that rely on NPDS data: ''
*
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
(CDC)
*
Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
(FDA)
*
Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
(EPA)
*
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within th ...
(DEA)
*
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
NPDS data is also frequently used by pharmaceutical manufacturers.
See also
* ''
Clinical Toxicology
Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expo ...
'', the official journal of the AAPCC.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:American Association Of Poison Control Centers
Medical associations based in the United States
Medical and health organizations based in Virginia
Toxicology organizations