I am new to long-term care and notice many residents are on numerous medications. Are there any resources besides the poison control number to use if a nurse is needed to find a medication or a group of medications fast?
There is a new website called webpoisoncontrol.org that is the first fully automated, interactive site.
It is designed by board-certified toxicology experts; it triages and provides recommendations. It is also available in an app for iPhone and Android users. Some of its topics include: Tip of the Day, rotating poison information and the Poison Post (a quarterly newsletter). It has a pill identifier, too.
The pill identifier will come in quite handy for nurses in assisted living, as residents tend to share their medications with one another.
Many years ago, I had an 85-year-old resident selling her medications to her neighbors. We had to report this to many agencies, and her family, as well as the police, Office of Inspector General and the department of health. Although we were in disbelief that this lady was making her winter cruise money by selling medications, the OIG found she had used eight different pharmacies and eight different doctors to acquire her vast supply. The OIG practically lived at the facility for a couple of months during the investigation and follow-up.
Having the app readily available on some phones or bookmarked on the computer will save time for the person who is searching for the site. During a potential poisoning, people are nervous and trying to look up information in a hurry may be extremely difficult.
The site recommends if you think poisoning has occurred to a pregnant woman or a child under 6 months of age to call poison control at (800) 222-1222.
From the December 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
