Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center

Programs: Poison control servicesiowa statewide poison control center (ispcc) provides iowa's 3. 0 million residents 24-hour toll-free telephone access to emergency poison information and treatment advice from specially trained nurses, pharmacists and physician toxicologists. The ispcc can assist people of all languages and the hearing impaired. During the fiscal year 2016-17, the ispcc responded to 32,652 calls, including 26,262 human exposures to poisonous substances and 6,390 calls for requests involving drug identification, animal poisonings, or other information calls. Over 44,000 follow-up calls were made by ispcc staff to assess and continually monitor the patient's progress. Of the total reported poisoning cases, nearly 88% of calls from the general public were safely and appropriately managed at home without utilizing more costly health care resources, resulting in a net savings to iowa's health care system of greater than $12 million. The ispcc engages in a wide range of public education activities including visits to schools, hospitals, and doctors' offices, and local community venues such as safety fairs. Distribution of poison prevention materials occurs through community organizations, direct mail, pharmacies, health care facilities, and the website, www. Iowapoison. Org. The ispcc serves as a training site and circulates an e-newsletter for health care providers with the goal of improving the quality of care provided to poisoned patients. The ispcc participates in a national real-time surveillance system to identify and monitor present or potential poisoning or drug hazards and help alert local, state and national health officials of such trends.