Journal of Medical Toxicology and Clinical Forensic Medicine

Accessing the Poison Control Center in the 21st Century. How do Patients Find and Contact their Poison Control Center?

Methods of accessing public services have evolved. It is unclear how the public locates contact phone numbers and communicates with poison centers. Methods: Prospective, observational survey on human exposure calls to the Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center over a 5-day period. Respondents were asked how they obtained the phone number for the poison center and whether they were calling from a cell phone or a landline. Results: The largest percentage of respondents (43%) located the poison center phone number via the internet and the majority of respondents (74%) called on a cell phone. Conclusion: Most callers use internet sources to find poison center phone numbers and cell phones to access poison centers.

Author(s):

Rika N O'Malley, Gerald O'Malley, Kennon Heard, Alvin Bronstein and Cindy M Siptak

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