The National Capital Poison Center (NCPC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and part of the nation’s Poison Control network. Poison Control is the ultimate source of public-facing, evidence-based, medically accurate information about the effects of drugs, medicines, and other potentially harmful substances on human health. Staffed and overseen by certified medical toxicologists, NCPC limits poisoning injury by providing free, expert guidance online or by phone, 24/7, year-round. In addition, NCPC provides poisoning prevention education, hazard detection and elimination through epidemiological poisoning surveillance, professional education in state-of-the-art treatment of poisonings, and health care cost-containment by handling 70% of poison exposure cases at the exposed person's home, helping patients avoid the cost and stress of unnecessary emergency department visits and ambulance runs. Studies have shown that poison centers like NCPC are extremely cost effective, saving between $6 and $36 for every dollar spent on them. In short, NCPC is dedicated to improving the public’s safety through an unrelenting search for hazards, aggressive advocacy of hazard elimination, effective poisoning prevention public education, and successful collaborations with community and public health partners.
