New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center

The New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of poisoning in New Mexico. The Center is available to the public and health care professionals 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
Expert staff assess and makes treatment recommendations during possible poisonings, and assist emergency personnel during hazardous material incidents.

Did you know that...?

The New Mexico Poison Center helps people of all ages in all types of poisoning situations?
In 2006, the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center received 41,376 "poison help" calls.
In many cases, the Center helps prevent costly trips to the emergency department by providing life-saving treatment information over the phone.
Forty-one percent of the calls to the Center involved children under age 6.

Common calls to the Center involve questions about or exposures to:

Medications (Prescription, over-the-counter, herbal, illegal, or animal medicines)
Household products

Personal care products
Plants & mushrooms
Bites and stings
Carbon monoxide
Pet poisonings
Food poisoning
Drug and substance abuse
Hazardous material incidents
Environmental chemicals
Work chemicals
Weapons of mass destruction

Cost Savings

Of the 41,376 calls received by the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center in 2006, 23,089 involved human exposures. 15,582 of those cases were managed at home.

An average cost to an emergency department to evaluate a poison exposure is approximately $362. By managing 15,582 cases at home, the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center saved the state of New Mexico approximately $5.6 million.

Education

The Center also serves as a major teaching site for the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy and the University of New Mexico Department of Emergency Medicine. The New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center coordinates poison prevention throughout the state and operates New Mexico's only computerized toxicosurveillance system.

The New Mexico Poison & Drug Information Center coordinates statewide public and profession education in order to reduce the incidence of unintentional poisonings and to increase awareness of the poison center services. The Center’s goals are to eliminate unintentional poisonings, minimize inappropriate home therapy and reduce the incidence of unnecessary health care system utilization and expenditures.

The New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center is a public service program of the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and is affiliated with the College of Pharmacy. The Center is certified as a Regional Poison Center by the American Association of Poison Control Centers signifying national recognition of its status as an outstanding poison center. The New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center is funded as a Special Project through the New Mexico Legislature.

Quick Links

New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center