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Hazardous materials exposure information service: development, analysis, and medical implications
J L Burgess1, M C Keifer, S Barnhart
1Washington Poison Center, Seattle, USA. burgessj@u.washington.edu
Annals of Emergency Medicine
|February 1, 1997
Summary
The Hazardous Materials Exposure Information Service (HMEIS) helps medical professionals treat hazardous material exposure. Early consultation with HMEIS significantly reduces unnecessary patient transport to medical facilities, potentially lowering healthcare costs.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Hazardous materials incidents require rapid, accurate medical information.
- The Washington Poison Center (WPC) established the Hazardous Materials Exposure Information Service (HMEIS) to address this need.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of HMEIS on medical resource utilization, specifically patient transport rates.
- To assess the efficiency of HMEIS in providing diagnostic and treatment recommendations for hazardous material exposures.
Main Methods:
- HMEIS collects incident and exposure data from on-site teams.
- WPC medical toxicologists analyze data and provide recommendations.
- Patient transport rates were compared between HMEIS-consulted cases and control/historical data.
Main Results:
- Over 22 months, 50 calls met HMEIS criteria, involving 466 exposed individuals.
- When consulted pre-transport, HMEIS resulted in 15% of victims being transported, a significant decrease from 81% in concurrent incidents and 63% historically.
- This suggests more efficient use of medical resources.
Conclusions:
- HMEIS facilitates informed decisions regarding patient transport after hazardous material exposure.
- The service shows potential for reducing healthcare costs by optimizing medical resource allocation.
- Further research is needed to confirm these preliminary findings and address potential confounding factors.