Bitter Pill: California Axes Poison Control

Largest state in U.S. will have no poison control services

June 1, 2009
Funding for poison control services in California has been eliminated from the Governor's budget, making it the only state without such services. California voters turned down a series of ballot initiatives last week and state services ranging from parks to universities are encountering massive cutbacks as a result.

Poison control supporters say the services actually save money, not to mention lives. Officials of the soon-to-be-defunded state agency say poison control services cost California $5.9 million but save $70 million in health care costs and prevent 164,000 emergency room visits each year. Not only do consumers benefit from access to poison information by calling the toll-free number, they say emergency room doctors and nurses and other health professionals use the poison control services as their primary resource for managing poison exposures.

And while some residents believe that Californians will be able to use a national poison control hotline, they won’t -- there is no such service.

"It is critical for Californians to understand that there is no national poison control hotline," said Stuart Heard, Executive Director of the California Poison Control System. "The 'national' number, 1-800-222-1222, goes to local poison centers only -- and in our case there won't be one.”

Heard points out that without the California Poison Control System, residents will be left with no alternative other than 911, emergency rooms or their private physician -- all of whom rely on the state system to manage poison exposures.

Since its inception in 1997, the CPCS has managed over 3,000,000 cases. Clinical pharmacists, registered nurses, physicians and poison information providers answer the phones. A board-certified physician toxicologist is available at all times for specialized consultations from medical facilities seeking expert, current information in managing poison exposures.

In addition to providing access to poison experts, the CPCS is a central communication system infrastructure that can handle thousands of calls a day, providing real-time surveillance and identification of critical public health threats and rapid, reliable help during major public health events.

The CPCS has four sites of operation including UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco, Children's Hospital Central California in Fresno and the UC San Diego Medical Center in San Diego.

California's budget woes have worsened because of the nationwide recession, which has cut deeply into tax revenues. State lawmakers have found no easy solution to close a budget gap estimated at $24.3 billion gap through June 30, 2010.

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