About the Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center

The Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center provides information about :

• Poisons: first aid and treatment recommendations
• Scorpion stings and other venemous/poisonous bites and stings
• Adverse drug effects or problems with medications 
• Chemical exposures - household products, pesticides
• Pill identification - drug information
• Occupational health
• Poison safety

We offer a free 24-hour help by phone. The phone is answered by nurses or poison information providers specifically trained in handling poison emergencies.

In 2012, Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center managed over 89,000 calls:

• Forty four percent of the calls were from people who were actually poisoned.
• About 11 percent were from people bitten or stung by scorpions, snakes, spiders or other venomous/poisonous creatures 

During 2012, 35,368 people were taken care of for their poisonings in their own home without a trip to the emergency room. Surveys indicate that about 15,000 callers would have gone to their local emergency department if they had not been taken care of at home. This savings is estimated to be more than $30 million in health care expenses.

The Banner Good Samaritan Poison Center is also affiliated with the Medical Toxicology Fellowship program at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, in which physicians receive training in toxicology. 

Data
The Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center is a certified member of the American Association of Poison Control Centers and participates in an online data collection system.

Every eight minutes local data is uploaded to a national data base that combines data from all poison centers nationwide.This system provides the only real-time monitoring of national trends in reported symptoms that could indicate terrorist activity. In the event of statistically significant reports of symptoms, alerts would be issued immediately.

History
Established in 1979, the Banner Good Samaritan Poison Center has continuously served the citizens of Maricopa County and surrounding counties for more than 30 years. It is supported by Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, the state of Arizona, United Way, federal government and charitable donations.