America's Poison Centers

What America's Poison Centers does

America's Poison Centers is a nonprofit membership association representing 53 accredited poison control centers across all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories. Founded in 1961 alongside the Congressional establishment of National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), the organization coordinates the national poison response infrastructure through three primary service channels: the Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222), the PoisonHelp.org online self-triage platform, and the National Poison Data System (NPDS). These channels together handle approximately 2.4 million cases per year, with a new case opened every 15 seconds on average, and are provided at no cost to the public. Member centers are staffed by physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and health educators providing 24/7/365 expert toxicology consultation.

The organization's core technology asset is the National Poison Data System (NPDS), the only near real-time poisoning surveillance database in the United States, with over 83 million case records uploaded every 4.97 minutes. NPDS integrates a products and substances database of more than 490,000 entries maintained through a partnership with the Micromedex System (Merative), and uses a proprietary system of approximately 1,000 generic codes for substance categorization. The organization has progressively expanded its product surface with NPDS Analytical Products (a suite of five customized data deliverables for external clients), emerging hazard tracking pages for high-velocity substances (GLP-1 agonists, Delta-8 THC, cannabis edibles, synthetic cannabinoids, opioids, e-cigarettes, CBD, laundry detergent packets, and hand sanitizer), and a K-12 prevention education program. Federal appropriations, state funding, Medicaid and CHIP reimbursements, membership dues from the 53 poison centers, and NPDS data licensing form the revenue base. The RAND Corporation has independently assessed the network as generating $3.1 billion in annual societal savings and $16.77 in benefits per $1 invested.

Name

America's Poison Centers

Legal name

America's Poison Centers

Website

https://poisoncenters.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

America's Poison Centers is a nonprofit association representing 53 accredited U.S. poison control centers, providing 24/7 free expert poison advice via the Poison Help hotline and PoisonHelp.org, and operating the National Poison Data System for real-time poisoning surveillance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Poison Control Services

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Safety & Medical Contact Centers (AE Intake/Call Centers) (HLAGALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Signal Detection & Safety Analytics (Epidemiology/RWE) (HLAGALAC), Pharmacovigilance, Medication Safety & Controlled Substance Diversion Monitoring (HLAFALAN)

Keywords

• Poison control services
• Toxicology data surveillance
• Emergency poison hotline
• Poisoning prevention education
• Public health data systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: America's Poison Centers is a nonprofit organization that receives federally appropriated funds and other government support. Poison centers rely on Medicaid, CHIP, and other federal funding sources. Federal appropriations to Poison Centers save $450 million annually in healthcare costs.
2. Membership Dues: Core membership is made up of the 55 U.S. poison centers who answer calls to the Poison Help line. America's Poison Centers provides accreditation, professional certification, continuing education, and member resources.
3. Data Services Revenue: NPDS data is provided to external clients through licensing agreements. Data is formatted in Excel or Access and delivered through secure cloud platform. Fees are dependent on organization type, number of substance categories, frequency of delivery, and timeframe. Standard delivery takes 6-8 weeks; expedited delivery within two weeks available for additional fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

America's Poison Centers is a national nonprofit association that represents and coordinates 53 accredited poison control centers across the United States and territories. It delivers 24/7/365 expert poison emergency advice at no cost to the public via the Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) and PoisonHelp.org self-triage website, operates accreditation, certification, and continuing-education programs for member centers, and maintains the National Poison Data System (NPDS) — the nation's only near real-time poisoning surveillance database with over 83 million case records.

Product overview

America's Poison Centers operates as a nonprofit association representing 55 accredited poison control centers across the U.S. The organization provides a unified national poison control service through its core offerings: the Poison Help Line (1-800-222-1222) available 24/7/365, the PoisonHelp.org online self-triage platform, and the National Poison Data System (NPDS) — the nation's only near real-time poisoning surveillance database with over 83 million records. NPDS Analytical Products provide customized data products including case listings, custom tables, fatality abstracts, and surveillance definitions. The organization also tracks emerging hazards through dedicated monitoring pages for substances including e-cigarettes/liquid nicotine, opioids, edible cannabis, Delta-8 THC, GLP-1 agonists, CBD, synthetic cannabinoids, laundry detergent packets, and hand sanitizers. Prevention resources cover COVID-19 safety, in-home safety, daycare/school safety, seasonal hazards, medicine disposal, OTC medicine safety, older adults, and food/mushroom safety. The Member Center provides resources for member poison centers. Annual NPDS reports provide retrospective analysis of poisoning trends.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PoisonHelp.org: Online self-triage tool providing immediate poison help to the public as an alternative to the Poison Help Hotline
• National Poison Data System (NPDS)
• Poison Help Line
• National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW)

Products and services

• Poison Help Line (1-800-222-1222) National toll-free 24/7/365 hotline connecting callers in every U.S. state and territory to their local accredited poison control center for free, confidential expert medical advice on poison emergencies.
• PoisonHelp.org Online Self-Triage Tool Free 24/7 online triage website providing immediate poison help and personalized recommendations validated by poison center experts as an alternative to the hotline.
• National Poison Data System (NPDS) The nation's only near real-time poisoning data surveillance system aggregating case records from all 55 poison centers, with data uploaded every 4.97 minutes and over 83 million case records covering 490,000+ products and substances.
• NPDS Analytical Products Customized analytical data products licensed to research, government, and industry clients in five categories: Individual Case Listings, Custom Tables, Fatality Abstracts, Surveillance Definitions, and Case Narratives, delivered via secure cloud platform in Excel or Access format.
• NPDS Annual Reports Annual retrospective analyses of national poison exposures and emerging public health hazards (41st edition published for 2022 data) summarizing trends, demographics, and substance-specific case volumes from NPDS.
• Member Center Portal Authenticated member portal for the 53 accredited poison centers providing access to the member directory, committees, board policies, resources, accreditation and certification programs, and meeting registration.

Quantifiable outcome

• $3.1 billion saved annually in medical costs and lost productivity
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Safe Kids WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 October 2025Three-year partnership dedicated to advancing efforts to protect kids from preventable poisonings. Includes joint research study using NPDS data to explore sociodemographic and geographic factors associated with increased risk of poisoning among children under six. Collaboration on education and outreach to amplify pediatric poisoning trends and prevention messaging.
• National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on COVID-19 disinfectant safety information. NPIC provides expertise on pesticides and antimicrobials. Joint content development for public guidance on cleaning product safety.
• Oregon Poison CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on COVID-19 disinfectant safety page content.
• Virginia Poison CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on COVID-19 disinfectant safety page content.
• Micromedex System (Merative)coreTechnology or IntegrationMaintains and continuously updates the products and substances database in NPDS containing over 490,000 products. Provides Poisindex database with information on over 483,000 chemical and household products used by poison center staff.
• KenvueminorOthersSponsor of the OTC Medicine Safety program, a 100% free evidence-based set of resources designed to empower adults to facilitate critical medicine safety discussions with pre-adolescents.
• Johnson and Johnson Consumer Inc.minorOthersSponsor of the 'Are you taking your medicines safely' program intended for adults 65+ living independently. 60-minute conversation-based program developed with poisoning prevention educators from America's poison centers.
• YMI ClassroomminorOthersPartners with OTC Medicine Safety program providing digital resources including interactive virtual field trips and trivia games for teaching medicine safety to tweens.
• RAND CorporationminorOthersConducted independent evaluation of monetary and societal benefits provided by U.S. Poison Centers. Report 'Poison Prevention, Treatment, and Detection as Public Health Investments' estimates $3.1 billion annual savings.

Scale indicators21 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Merative Micromedex: Provides the Poisindex toxicology database used by America's Poison Centers, covering 483,000+ products. Directly comparable as a clinical toxicology and drug information reference relied upon by poison control professionals for substance identification and treatment recommendations.
• Toxbase (UK National Poisons Information Service): UK's primary poisons information database used by healthcare professionals for poisoning management. Operates a similar toxicology information service model with online database access for clinical staff, directly comparable to APC's role in supporting poison center operations.

Broad incumbents

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Larger public health agency that consumes NPDS data for public health surveillance. Overlapping in real-time disease and exposure monitoring mission but operates at vastly broader scope; uses APC's data as an input rather than direct competitor.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Federal regulatory agency with overlapping interest in adverse event surveillance and drug safety monitoring. Consumes poisoning data via MedWatch and surveillance partnerships; comparable in mission scope around public health protection rather than direct competition.
• Wolters Kluwer UpToDate: Clinical decision support resource widely used by healthcare professionals including poison center staff. Comparable in providing authoritative medical information for clinical decisions, though broader in scope across all medical specialties rather than poisoning-specific.
• WebMD: Major consumer health information platform providing symptom triage and educational content. Comparable in serving as a public-facing health information resource, though broader in scope and commercial rather than nonprofit mission-driven.

Regional players

• Health Canada / Canadian Poison Centres: Operates a parallel poison centre network across Canada providing 24/7 toxicology advice in French and English. Comparable service offering and structure to APC, but operates in different national jurisdiction without U.S. coverage overlap.
• NHS 111: UK's national health helpline providing 24/7 non-emergency medical triage and advice via phone and online. Comparable consumer-facing health helpline model with similar mission of routing health concerns before they become emergencies, but operates in UK only.

Emerging players

• HealthMap (Boston Children's Hospital): Digital disease surveillance platform aggregating open-source data for real-time outbreak monitoring. Comparable in providing real-time public health surveillance, though focuses on infectious disease rather than toxicology/poisoning exposures.

Others

• RAND Corporation: Independent research institution that produced the impact study documenting APC's $3.1B annual savings and $16.77 ROI. Comparable as research/evaluation partner producing public health economic analyses, though not a direct service competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PoisonCenters
• Facebookfacebook.com/PoisonCenters
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/poisoncenters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about America's Poison Centers