Digital Triage Tool webPOISONCONTROL® Launches Comprehensive Upgrade to Help More People With Poison Exposures
Press Release: September 20, 2017
NEWTOWN, Pa.,
|
|||
According to the National Poison Data System, in 2015, 85% of poison exposures reported to U.S. poison centers were nontoxic, minimally toxic or had, at most, a minor effect. Numerous studies have demonstrated that minimally toxic poison exposures drive up healthcare costs due to unnecessary emergency room visits. A 2012
“Every day, nearly 6,000 people call U.S. poison centers and another 4,000 to 9,000 struggle with a poison exposure but don’t call,” says Toby Litovitz, MD, medical toxicologist and director of the project. “They don’t call for a variety of reasons. Some people don’t like talking on the phone or getting stuck in phone queues, and many are embarrassed, suspect they will be judged, don’t have phone access or don’t want to scare their children. Too many people just guess - resulting in needless ER visits for those who don’t need to see a doctor, and dire outcomes for those who stay home when they should have sought medical care.”
When using webPOISONCONTROL, a user can enter the name of the substance, pill imprint code, or scan the product barcode, and add the amount swallowed, age, weight and symptoms in approximately three minutes. Users then receive a specific recommendation that it’s safe to stay at home, go to the ER or call Poison Control for further guidance. If a user receives the recommendation to stay home, the tool tells the user what to do and then provides information about specific symptoms that are likely to occur and are not of concern, as well as symptoms that should trigger a call to Poison Control or an ER visit. The tool also provides a pill identifier for quick recognition.
“To make the tool effective, the National Capital Poison Center needed a technology partner that could consolidate and integrate an immense amount of data, and deliver it to the user in a simple, easy-to-use application. Using our big data, software engineering and UX expertise, we developed a solution built on 3,300 complex algorithms that accurately analyzes 52,000 products and 207,000 barcodes,” said Kevin Labick, Co-Head, Digital Engagement, EPAM. “We are very proud to work with NCPC to improve poisoning outcomes across the country.”
To date, more than 60,000 people have safely used webPOISONCONTROL for online poison exposure help. Recommendations are free, confidential and prepared by clinical toxicology experts. webPOISONCONTROL is sponsored by the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, D.C. and is used by ten participating poison centers. It is funded by donations, including a generous grant from the
About NCPC
The National Capital Poison Center, founded in 1980, is an independent, not-for-profit organization and accredited poison center. Its nurse and pharmacist
About EPAM Systems
Since 1993,
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the
CONTACT: Danielle Ruess-Saltz
M: 267.978.7688
danielle_ruess-saltz@epam.com
Toby Litovitz, MD
National Capital Poison Center
O: 202.362.7493
pc@poison.org