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Poisindex® (Merative Micromedex®), is a software database used by poison center staff to code calls. Poisindex® has information on more than 445,000 chemical and household products to assist in the management of calls. In addition, each product is assigned a unique product code in Poisindex® and is sorted into a system of approximately 1,000 America's Poison Centers generic codes, which are maintained by Poisindex®. Specialists in Poison Information (SPIs) attempt to identify the exact substance involved in the exposure down to the brand name or manufacturer on every call. In time of outbreaks or emerging infectious or chemical problems, products can be added to the database for immediate use. Cases associated with various products can be identified by querying the database on Poisindex® product or America's Poison Centers generic category codes.
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NPDS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
America's Poison Centers staff will work closely with data requestors to select appropriate Poisindex® product ID codes and/or America's Poison Centers generic category codes on an individual basis. Listing substances of interest will allow an initial assessment of product ID codes and America's Poison Centers generic category codes. An Exposure case is one where there is actual or suspected contact (e.g., ingestion, inhalation, absorption, etc.) reported with a particular substance. An Information case is one where the caller contacts the poison center about a particular substance; however, there is no identifiable exposure involved. Please note that species is not coded for Information cases; Information cases also have different call subcategories (e.g., Drug information, Medical Information) that are coded depending on the nature of the call. If both Exposure and Information cases are requested, Information cases will be provisioned in a separate dataset. If only one record for a case is generated even if a case was handled by more than one poison center – the record would correspond to the center that case was transferred to. If multiple records are selected, a case listing would potentially have more than one case for the same patient if more than one center was involved in handling the patient. It should be noted that a case number assigned to the patient by the center transferring the case will not carry over as the assigned case number for the center to which the patient is transferred. Brand, Trade or Proprietary name identifiers can be disclosed to the brand holder or to third parties with written permission from the brand holder. An open case is one in which the poison center is actively conducting follow up whereas a closed case is one where the poison center has completed all related follow up. Because open cases have the potential for coding changes, additional justification is required to include open cases as part of a data request. . Once your Data Request Form has been submitted, reviewed, and finalized by our staff based on your research needs, we will generate a quote for you. Prices are dependent upon the type of organization (e.g., corporation, non-profit, individual), the number of substance categories requested to be displayed, the frequency of data delivery, and the time frame of interest, among other selections. The provision of data generally takes between 6-8 weeks after contract agreement execution. However, if the data is required in a shorter time frame it can be expedited for delivery within two weeks after the agreement is executed for an additional fee. Please note that America's Poison Centers' NPDS Data Request Policy requires certain levels of internal approval prior to agreement execution. Data will be formatted in Excel. Data will be delivered in Access if the dataset exceeds Excel size limits. Data will be delivered through a secure, cloud based digital asset management platform. All data files are password protected prior to delivery. If you have additional questions about NPDS or the data request process, please contact DataRequests@PoisonCenters.org. |