Phone services in healthcare
1-844-POISON-X
1-844-764-7669
Next week is National Poison Prevention Week, which happens on the third week of March each year. Over 7,000 Canadians die of accidental poisonings each year, which encompasses all age groups--not just young children (Statistics Canada, 2025; BC Injury, 2024). Most of these are due to incorrect medication intake related to substance abuse, the opioid crisis, erroneous self-administration in older adults, or the relentless curiosity of young children.
Before the establishment of formal poison control centres in the 1960s, physicians could only request select information about patented and protected drug formulas that were causing poisonings (Jiang et al., 2020). Emergency departments in Canada independently hosted “Poison Telephone” lines, which were typically answered by nurses (Shah et al., 1975). The installation of the Canadian Poison Control Program started a database that enabled fluid exchange of information between manufacturers and poison call centres about product formulation that does not appear on labels (Jiang et al., 2020).
These local-level “Poison Telephone” lines have now converged into the five poison control centres of Canada, which quietly change lives each day. About 60% of the over 200,000 calls received by poison control centres in Canada in 2023 are resolved over the phone (CAPCC, 2021). By having experts to quickly consult first, thousands of Canadians are spared from potentially unnecessary visits to urgent care that are incredibly stressful on psychological and economic levels.
When it comes to phone services in telehealth, I think we forget to appreciate the profound psychological impact of providing people quick, easy access to knowledgeable, reassuring voices within the safety of the home. This means the world for families with small children who have a normal but worrying inability to comprehend the safety hazards that adorn the world around them. Calls related to children under 6 represent ⅓ of all calls received by poison control centres in Canada (CAPCC, 2021).
In this Radiolab podcast, Brenna, a toddler mom, explores in awe the past, present, and future of poison control in the United States after they, within seconds, vaporized her panic when her son ate his diaper ointment.
It’s astonishing that we are able to take for granted an organized pool of people who know about countless poisonous animals and plants, foodborne toxins, household chemicals and mixes of them, and medication toxicities (CAPCC, 2021). Poison control centre workers can be clinical toxicologists, or pharmacists, physicians, and nurses who are certified specialists in poison information (CSPI) (CAPCC, 2021). The CSPI designation is obtained after over 1,000 hours or two full years of extensive training at a poison control centre (CAPCC, 2021). These professionals not only retain a library of knowledge, but also have excellent socioemotional skills to handle a crisis over a phone.
“Do you remember—did you hear their words or did you hear their tone?”
“It was the tone. They were so calm…
… And that’s what I remember is how grateful I felt.”
- Deborah Blum on what she remembers from the night she called poison control after her son ate a whole bottle of fluoride pills
However, along with similar services like 8-1-1 and 9-1-1, phone line responders navigate long hours with relatively low compensation and are at risk of psychological challenges due to an endless stream of distressing calls. Poison control centres are also consulted by ICU and emergency units for self-harm cases. While employment in such phone services often includes benefits that target wellbeing, increased education in the community on poisons, prevention, and the roles of different hotlines besides 9-1-1 can improve wellbeing for everybody. This National Poison Prevention Week, let’s recognize the reassurance, knowledge, and resilience of the professionals at the other end of the line, which makes critical health information and decision-making more accessible.
By: Christina Zeng (she/her) | Blog Committee Member
References:
BC Injury. (2024). Poisoning. BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit. https://www.injuryresearch.bc.ca/injury-priorities/poisoning
CAPCC. (2021) Pan-Canadian Poison Centres 2021 Annual Report. The Canadian Association for Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicology. https://infopoison.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Poison-Centres_2021-Annual-Report.pdf
Jiang A, Belton, kL, & Fuselli P (2020). Evidence Summary on the Prevention of Poisoning in canada. Parachute. https://parachute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Evidence-Summary-on-Poisoning-in-Canada-UA.pdf
Meischke, H., Lilly, M., Beaton, R. et al. (2018). Protocol: a multi-level intervention program to reduce stress in 9-1-1 telecommunicators. BMC Public Health 18, 570. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5471-0
Shah, C. P., Bain, H. W., & Martin, M. G. (1975). Poisoning and poison control centres in Canada. Canadian Medical Association journal, 113(6), 523–530. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1956757/
Statistics Canada. (2025). Fall and drug overdose deaths are main contributors as accidental deaths continue to increase, 2017 to 2022. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250219/dq250219b-eng.htm
