Iowa Poison Control Center

Poison Control servicesiowa Statewide Poison Control Center (ispcc) provides Iowa's 3.2 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 2022-23, the ispcc handled 23,395 human exposure cases and 1,513 requests for information including pill identification, drug information, animal poisonings, or other information about poisons or Poison prevention. Over 48,000 follow-up calls were made by ispcc staff to assess and continually monitor the patient's progress. Nearly 90% of the cases involving children <6 years of age were safely managed at home with Poison Center advice and follow-up. This results in an annual savings of over $16 million in avoided health care costs in Iowa. The ispcc is also a valuable resource for health care providers with 33% of our calls coming from physicians, nurses, ems providers, pharmacists and physician assistants. 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 for health care professionals, provides continuing medical education through lectures and conferences, and distributes an e-newsletter for health care providers with the goal of improving the quality of care provided to patients with suspected poisoning or overdose. 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 federal health officials of such trends.