POISON CONTROL CENTER FUNDING

To advocate that poison control centers be considered an essential emergency service; further,

To advocate for new and stable funding mechanisms for poison control centers to continue to provide these essential and valuable services; further,

To support the integration and coordination of poison control center services where appropriate.

Rationale

The Council reviewed recent trends by state governments to reduce or eliminate funding for poison control centers and concluded that ASHP policy was needed. The Board and House concurred. The Council, Board, and House agreed with observations by the American College of Emergency Physicians in its June 2010 task force report that the centers are an essential emergency service and part of the infrastructure for an all-hazards emergency preparedness system, including pandemic and bioterrorism response. The Council noted that studies have shown a positive financial benefit provided by the centers; a 2012 report from the American Association of Poison Control Centers found that poison control centers save almost $14 in medical costs and lost productivity for every dollar invested, for an annual savings of $1.8 billion.

Although the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 injected $5 million in funding to address increased poison control center usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the funding is merely a one-time increase. In light of the stress COVID-19 has created for state and local budgets, it remains likely that poison control center budgets will remain at risk. As such, there is a continued need for new and stable funding. Further, poison control centers should be better integrated and coordinated, and such integration and coordination should be supported where appropriate.