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Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science

Maryland Poison Center

The Maryland Poison Center (MPC) is a well-known emergency telephone service that helps those who have been poisoned, including unintentional poisonings in small children, exposures to household products, occupational exposures and intentional overdoses. MPC ensures that the community, caregivers and health professionals know how to prevent poisonings and are informed about what to do if a poisoning occurs.

Bruce Anderson, PharmD, associate professor, is director of operation at Maryland Poison Center.  Wendy Klein-Swartz, PharmD, MPH is coordinator of research & education, as well as the toxicology fellowship director.

In 2007, the MPC attended to a total of 65,804 callers of which 54 percent involved people who were exposed to a potentially toxic substance; 3 percent related to toxic exposures in animals; 30 percent sought help with tablet or capsule identification; and 13 percent requested other poison information.

The MPC is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with pharmacists and nurses who have specialized training as poison specialists. MPC poison specialists and the MPC as an organization, have achieved the highest standard of certification from the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

MPC public education efforts increase the awareness of common poisons and help prevent poisonings from occurring. In 2007, the MPC provided speakers or materials for 116 programs in 16 locations throughout Maryland, attended by over 8,200 people. Several community organizations partnered with the MPC including public safety agencies, health departments, schools, police departments, childcare centers, pharmacies, hospitals and the American Red Cross.

MPC education programs for health professionals are designed to help the clinician better manage poisoning and overdose cases. In 2007, 53 MPC programs were attended by 2,200 healthcare and emergency medical service providers.

Call data is entered into an online data collection system in real time. MPC data is uploaded to a national poison center data collection system every 10 minutes. Data is analyzed to look for indicators of terrorism or public health trends on a national and regional basis.

For more information contact www.mdpoison.com or call 1-800-222-1222.